A Trainer's Journey
by xTheDarkAgendax
Summary: This is the story of Ron, a Pokemon trainer who is trying to make himself a legend. He begins his adventure in the Kanto region.
1. Elekid vs Squirtle!

Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Elekid vs. Squirtle!**

Just a few miles from Pallet Town, a boy walked down a winding dirt trail on his way to the famous Professor Oak's laboratory. The sun was high in the sky, as it was mid-day. There were tall, shady trees keeping the sun from beating down on the boy. He had just turned 13 years old and on his own for the first time in his life.

He was wearing blue jeans and a white tee-shirt. Over his shirt he wore his favorite windbreaker, which was a darker shade of green, about that of the foliage around him. His shoes were broken in and showed sign of wear and tear from use. His long dirty blonde hair glistened in the slight bit of sun that peaked through the trees.

Walking beside him was his partner Pokemon and his best friend, an Elekid he had received as a birthday gift while he was still in school a year ago. The two of them had been through many adventures together and had a strong bond. Elekid had no real fighting experience but had practiced using various attacks it had mastered such as Thundershock and Leer.

The boy's name was Ron, and his dream was to be the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world.

"This is such a drag. A famous Pokemon professor couldn't have just set up shop in Saffron City, could they? No, instead they have to be in some small-time town miles away from where I live."

Elekid just nodded, as was his tendency whenever his trainer went on rants about something. For being best friends they were completely different. Ron was always talking, while Elekid would simply let his body motions do the "talking."

Ron settled on a rock to the left of the path and took his black travel pack off his back. He reached into the side compartment and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. Upon unraveling it, the paper was revealed to be a complete map of the Kanto region.

"Okay, so I'm about a mile away from Pallet Town. Once I arrive there, I should be able to find Professor Oak's lab with ease."

Once he decided that this plan of action was best, he rolled the map back up and put it back where he got it from. He stood up and stared down the dirt path.

"Well, this is just one small step in my goal of becoming the greatest Pokemon trainer of all time. Of course, looking at it now it's not exactly a small step…unless I was a giant."

Ron laughed to himself and imagined a giant taking a small step and making it from where he was right now to Pallet Town. After this little moment he began walking again. Elekid followed.

As he walked down the path, Ron thought out loud.

"You know, I've never been in a real Pokemon battle before. I wonder how I would fare against a real opponent."

Of course, he had been an avid fan of the Pokemon Battle Network, which showcased various league battles. Many hours of his life had been spent watching Pokemon trainers on TV, battling in large arenas across the world with many different types of Pokemon.

Suddenly, a voice came from out of nowhere. Ron looked around to find the source of the person's voice.

"You know, if you keep talking to yourself like that, people will think you're crazy or something."

A boy about the same age as Ron stepped out from the shadows. He was a little taller than Ron. He was also wearing a pair of jeans, but aside of that this kid dressed completely different from Ron.

He had on a black and red polo shirt and around his belt were a few pokeballs. His travel back was a bit smaller than Ron's and instead of being black it was red like parts of his polo shirt. His black, neatly trimmed hair made him seem a lot more professional than Ron, and the boy's tone gave Ron the first impression that this kid thought he was the greatest person ever.

Ron asked, "Who are you?"

The boy responded, "First tell me your name, then I'll tell you mine."

This kid was really starting to strike a nerve in Ron. First, he makes a rude comment about Ron thinking out loud. Then, he refuses the common courtesy of telling Ron his name when asked.

Reluctantly, Ron gave him name first. "My name is Ron Williams, and I'm from Saffron City. And you are?"

The boy said, "My name is Seth I'm from Pallet Town, which is right down the road if you didn't know. I was just searching for some wild Pokemon around these parts when I heard someone talking to themselves."

Ron replied, "Yeah, and you figured out that was me."

It just struck Ron that Seth was a Pokemon trainer, which meant that this could be this first real test as a Pokemon trainer.

"Hey Seth, do you think you could have a battle with me?"

For the first time, Seth actually seemed interested in something Ron said.

"A battle? Sure I'll mop the floor with you. How's a one-on-one sound to you?"

Ron expected that sort of response from Seth, even after only knowing him for a few minutes.

"Sure. I'll be using my Elekid. How about you?"

Seth didn't answer, but instead took a pokeball from his belt. The red and white colored sphere enlarged before being thrown a few feet in front of Seth. From out of the pokeball came a Squirtle.

Squirtle was a small, turtle-like Pokemon. Its body was a light shade of blue, while its shell was more of a orange-like color. It stood by its trainer's side and awaited an order.

Ron smiled, knowing that his Elekid had the advantage in this fight. So much for Seth being able to "mop the floor" with him. It might be the other way around though.

"Elekid, let's start things off with a Thundershock attack!"

The small electric Pokemon began swinging its arms around at a rapid pace. Sparks began to shot out from its arms. When the Pokemon felt as though it had built op enough energy, it let lose a stream of electric energy.

Seth cried, "Squirtle, hurry up and dodge the attack, then tackle into Elekid!"

Squirtle nodded to its trainer and evaded the electricity coming at it, but barely. Seeing an opening, Squirtle ran in at Elekid, ready to throw its body at the electric Pokemon at full force.

Ron smiled, this was what he hoped would happen.

"Elekid, brace yourself for the attack!"

Squirtle slammed into Elekid, sending it back a few feet. Elekid had managed to endure a bit of the force from the attack, but that wasn't enough for it to hold its place on the ground.

"Nice job Squirtle," exclaimed Seth, "Let's try that again, it seems to be working well."

It was at this point that the reason Ron smiled earlier was made apparent. A few sparks flew from Squirtle's body, the small turtle Pokemon was unable to move, it had been paralyzed.

Ron happily said, "That's Elekid's special ability Static in effect. When a Pokemon comes in contact with my buddy here, they have a chance of becoming paralyzed as a result of coming in contact with an electric Pokemon."

Seth looked frustrated. "You think that'll be enough to beat us?!"

Ron exclaimed, "I think so. Elekid, let's finish this right now. Use your Thundershock attack one more time and really let Squirtle have it."

This time the attack hit its mark, shocking Squirtle pretty badly. A flash of yellow light overcame Squirtle, and by the time the light faded away, Squirtle was left lying on the ground with a few parts of its body looking a little crispy.

Seth's Squirtle had been defeated. "Gah! Squirtle couldn't cut it."

He pointed a pokeball at his fallen Pokemon, and when the red light emitted from the pokeball came in contact, turned the Pokemon into a flash of red that returned to the pokeball from where it came.

Seth looked at Ron. "You're a pretty good trainer. I have to give you credit for that win. However, don't expect for such an easy win next time. I won't lose to you again!"

With that Seth turned away from Ron and began walking down the road where Ron had come from. Ron figure that he was off to look for wild Pokemon like he had planned to do prior to running into Ron.

"Nice job Elekid! I knew you could do it."

Elekid shouted its name in a rare show of emotion. "Elekid!"

Ron decided that he might as well give Elekid a chance to rest in its pokeball after a battle. He reached to the lone pokeball on his belt and pointed it at Elekid. The red beam of light emitted from the pokeball came in contact with Elekid, returning the Pokemon back to its pokeball.

Following a quick pause to look at the pokeball of his victorious Elekid, Ron returned the pokeball to his belt and began to walk down the road.

The sun was still high in the sky, at this point it must have been about one p.m.. Ron had to hurry because the encounter with Seth made him behind schedule. He had to get to Pallet Town quickly so that he would have time to fill out the proper paperwork and such that was required of a starting trainer.

Eventually the dirt road turned into a cement road, and tress became less and less of a commonplace in the scenery. Because of this, the sun began to beam down onto Ron's head. Ron never did like too much sunlight, but he figured that he could bear with it for the time being.

The road began to go uphill, and suddenly at the top of the hill Ron saw the small town of Pallet.

"Well, I made it. Now I have to find Professor Oak's laboratory so I can register as a Pokemon trainer and receive my license."

Ron's adventure was finally about to begin.


	2. Professor Oak’s Lab! Adventure Begins!

Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Professor Oak's Lab! The Adventure Begins (seriously)!**

Ron made his way down the road, searching left and right for the famous Professor Oak's laboratory, where he could actually fill out his paperwork and become a Pokemon trainer. A lot had happened in the last hour, as he had his first Pokemon battle. It wasn't exactly a hardcore battle, but it was something.

He began to talk aloud, as was his custom.

"I think I really lucked out in that battle. If Seth had challenged me to anymore than a one-on-one challenge I would've been pretty screwed. I mean, aside from the Elekid I got for my birthday a year ago, I don't have any other Pokemon that I could use to battle with."

Ron needed to work on his multitasking abilities, because he couldn't even walk and talk at the same time sometimes. As he was talking, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. It wasn't long before he walked right into a sign not even two feet off from the road.

The first thing he did was check to see if he was bleeding. Luckily he just got a good bump on the head. Looking up at the sign he had hit into, he noticed it was a information sign. It had a green background surrounding by a white border. The white letters on it read:

**Professor Oak's Pokemon Laboratory Straight Ahead **

"Lucky me! I just happened to run into the sign I was looking for."

This time, his conversation with himself was noticed by a young man on the other side of the road in one of the small houses that seemed to populate this town more than people.

The man mumbled to himself, "Crazy tourist. Even though we live in a small town here, we have thousands of trainers pass through here every year just for the sake of talking to that old man up on the hill."

Ron pretended not to notice the man. It was none of his business what Ron did, and the last time Ron checked, talking to himself was not against the law anywhere in Kanto. He did make a mental note to check up on whether or not that was being proposed as a law or not.

After that strange mental note was stored into his long term memory, he looked down the path to see where the laboratory actually was. It didn't take long, as the path ahead forked. To the right was a small archway with the words "Professor Oak's residence" centered at the top.

"Well, this must be the place," thought Ron.

He walked through the archway and took note of the surroundings. Everywhere he looked there was lush green grass on the hill before him, save for the dirt pathway that led upward towards a large building that was none other than the famous Professor Oak's residence. To the right of the building there was what looked like an oversized pinwheel, which was slowing spinning because of the slight breeze that day.

After admiring the scene around him, he began to trek upwards toward the actually residence of Professor Oak, the place where some of the greatest Pokemon research of the world took place. He approached the large oak door and used the bronze knocker to attempt to get the attention of the old man that was surely in the laboratory at this hour.

"He really should have a doorbell, this place is huge."

Regardless of what Ron thought, it was only a matter of time before he heard the old man's voice from somewhere beyond the door.

"Just a minute, I'll be right there!"

Before long, the door creaked open. A man that looked to be in his fifties greeted Ron at the door. He was wearing a pair of black shoes and stainless white lab pants. Over his dark red shirt he wore a white lab coat, just as spotless as his pants. He had grey hair that covered his head, and a smile that told Ron that he was truly a kind old man.

"You must be Ron. I've been expecting you. Please come in."

Ron walked into the hallway of the building, looking beyond the hallway and seeing nothing but door after door. The entrance to the laboratory was very plain. The walls and doors were white, only distinguishable from the walls because of the bronze doorknobs on them.

Ron asked, "Professor, I'm pretty sure you know why I'm here. I want to register as a Pokemon trainer."

Professor Oak smiled, "Indeed I know why you are here. It just so happened that I had your trainer registration papers transferred here from your old school over in Saffron City. You went to the Saffron Pokemon Academy correct?"

Now this was unexpected. Ron had believed that he had to fill out all the paperwork himself, but apparently his old school had taken care of all of that for him. That seemed funny to him because he wasn't exactly a standout student at the Saffron Pokemon Academy. Though he received excellent grades in all of his Pokemon related courses, he only received average grades in his general courses.

Ron smiled, remembering the good old days at the Saffron Pokemon Academy. He then responded, "I'm guessing they send you a copy of my transcript along with all of the standard registration papers correct? If you're wondering about my simply average grades in all of my general courses, all I can say is that I honestly never was interested in things like math and science."

At this Professor Oak could do nothing but laugh in response. Ron took this as a hint that Professor Oak never really took much interest in anything like that either, as he made it in life as a very successful Pokemon Professor.

With that, Professor Oak led Ron down the hallway to a room labeled "Pokemon Lab Rm. 9." The door opened to reveal a small and standard seeming laboratory scene. There were computers for research and a few shelves with books on them. There was a area of tables and desks that took up an entire corner of the room. There were books scattered everywhere and a few devices that Ron could not identify as anything he knew of.

"Since the paperwork had already been completed by your old school, all I need is a signature from you to register you as an official Pokemon Trainer. After that, you will be eligible to compete in Gym Battles for Official Pokemon League Badges so you can participate in the League Championships."

Ron nodded. Of course he knew what receiving his Pokemon License meant. He had dreamed of this moment all of his life and spent much of his free time away from schoolwork or the television set reading up on things such as the Pokemon League Official Handbook, which he had carried with him almost everywhere back in Saffron City.

Ron was handed a clipboard and pen so he could sign off on his registration paper. After scanning the paperwork that his old school had sent to make sure everything was accurate, he signed off where he needed to and handed the clipboard back to Professor Oak. He set it off to the side and began to talk again.

"Now Ron, there is something I'd like to ask of you now that you are an official Pokemon Trainer."

From his desk he pulled a small red device He pushed a small release button on the side of it, revealed the interior of the device. Ron noticed many buttons on it and a small screen on the top. He wondered what this strange device was.

"This here is the Pokedex. This device is used to gather information on the many Pokemon species of the world. I would greatly appreciate it if you took it with you on your journey. You can scan Pokemon with it to find out information on them, and you can also use it as a way of identifying yourself as an official Pokemon Trainer. You see, I spent a good bulk of the early morning programming a small information chip with all of your information and slipped said chip into the Pokedex's Trainer Information slot."

Ron looked in amazement at the strange device.

"So this Pokedex has information on every and any Pokemon that I may come across in my travels?"

Professor Oak smiled, "You catch on pretty quick there Ron. Yes this device does have information on the Pokemon of this world. Scanning the Pokemon will allow me to, upon sliding the Pokedex into a specially designed computer, check which Pokemon you came across in your travels. Then other researchers and I can use that information to determine what Pokemon are appearing more frequently than others."

"And you're leaving this all up to me? I'm honored."

For the first time, Professor Oak shook his head as to say no.

"Actually, I've given a Pokedex to generally every Pokemon trainer that has registered as a Pokemon Trainer with me. You see, I need more than one trainer in order to determine how much of a certain species has come up, as you're sure to only scan a Pokemon once foe the information."

With this, Professor Oak grabbed a tray with five Pokeballs on it. Ron didn't know whether this Pokeballs were empty or not, so he wondered what they were for.

"Here Ron, take these five empty Pokeballs. Consider them tools to catch your first few Pokemon with."

Ron figured that Professor Oak must know that Ron already owns a Pokemon, but it would be best to ask.

"Professor, I take it that you know I already have a Pokemon then?"

The Professor nodded, "Yes Ron, I know that you have a Pokemon. The Saffron Pokemon Academy did make sure I knew that before I went ahead and gave you a Pokemon."

Ron said, "Well, if you had offered me a Pokemon, I would have declined and ended up telling you I had a Pokemon already anyway."

"So I take it you'll be on your way now? I'm sure you'd like to get on the road and begin your adventure as soon as possible."

Ron was about to say yes and be on his way, but then a question came to mind. He wanted to know if Professor Oak knew Seth, since Seth did mention that he lived in Pallet Town.

"Professor Oak, do you happen to know a trainer named Seth?"

Professor Oak seemed interested by this question.

"Yes I do know Seth. He lives here in Pallet town. I gave him his first Pokemon, a Squirtle. He's a strange one though, as he's had his Pokemon trainer license for over a month now and still he hasn't left really left home."

Ron said, "So I take it he just trains on his own in the woods around Pallet Town then?"

Professor Oak responded, "Yes he does. I take it you ran into him outside of Pallet Town and he challenged you to a battle or something?"

Ron went on, "Yeah, he did challenge me to a battle. I managed to beat his Squirtle with my Elekid, but I'm guessing that was all luck."

Professor Oak smiled at the beginner trainer. "A win is still a win Ron, but remember that he does have a bit more experience than you and in the future he may battle you again and win."

Ron said, "I'll keep that in mind Professor. Thank you for everything. Take care!"

With that Ron walked out of the room and down the hallway to the main door. Professor Oak accompanied him to the door, but the two of them parted ways as Ron opened the door and ran down the hill. Surprisingly he didn't trip or anything, as he was going down the hill full speed, the wind blowing in his face.

A smile spread across his face as he felt a sense of triumph in his heart. He was finally an official Pokemon trainer, and the open road lay ahead of him. His chapter in the history of Pokemon trainers was about to begin!


	3. Ron Catches a Pokemon!

Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Insert Title Here**

The sun was still high in the sky, but just by looking at where the sun was in the sky, one could tell that it was getting later into the day. Ron had just left Pallet Town, heading north along Route 1 to Viridian City. Ron really only had to go to Viridian City because it was between Pallet Town and Pewter City.

"Well, according to the map, I have to go straight through Viridian City to get to Pewter City. Of course, I'll have to venture through the Viridian Forest, among a few other different Routes, but it really shouldn't be that long of a trip."

A slight yawn was a reminder to Ron that he would have to stay the night in Viridian City, and if it took him more than a day to get through the forest, he would have to sleep in the wilderness somewhere for a night.

"I really should have brought along a tent or a sleeping bag at least. Maybe a store in Viridian City will have one or something. Otherwise it looks more and more like I'll be sleeping on the dirt surface of the wilderness somewhere."

He really didn't like the prospect of sleeping on the ground in the middle of a dark forest. There was no telling what kind of wild Pokemon might try to attack him, or even worse…eat him.

The thought of a Pokemon eating Ron made him laugh for some reason. He just couldn't imagine a Pokemon that would eat people living in the Viridian Forest. From what he had heard mostly small bug Pokemon lived in that forest. Anyway, he didn't know why he was thinking about this, because he should be paying attention to his surroundings.

…Luckily there weren't any signs to be seen in any direction; otherwise he may have a repeat of what happened in Pallet Town earlier that day.

"Funny that it just occurred to me that I can actually catch Pokemon now because of those Pokeballs that old dude gave me. This should be interesting, I've never really tried to catch a Pokemon before…probably because I never had the means to."

Ron glanced around at his surroundings. There were some nice tall trees with bright green leaves, some large grey boulders, and some…wait….Ron noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Noticing things in his surroundings wasn't a strong point, but this time he must have been super focused.

A small bird landed a few yards away from where Ron was standing. It looked to be only about a foot tall, its feathers were a combination of a light tan and a reddish brown. Without even pulling out the Pokedex, Ron knew what the Pokemon in question was.

Ron whispered to himself, "Wow a Pidgey. I know they're pretty common, but I've heard they're a good test of a beginning trainer's skills. Also now that I think of it, most of the teams I've watched battle on TV have the evolved form of Pidgey on it."

Ron couldn't exactly remember the name of this Pokemon, but he made a mental note to look into that a little later when he had more time. Right now he had an important task at hand.

For the first time in his life, he was going to attempt to capture a wild Pokemon. Although he had learned about how to catch Pokemon back at school, actually catching one in real life was a completely different task all to itself. He wished that the academy had spent some of its money on things like Pokemon catching simulations instead of those stupid textbooks…but that was in the past now.

"I guess I'm going to have to weaken this Pidgey first. Let's go Elekid!"

Ron grabbed Elekid's Pokeball from his belt. In a flash the Pokeball enlarged and opened up, revealing Ron's electric Pokemon. Sparks flew from Elekid's body as it took a battle pose, awaiting the commands of Ron.

"Alright Elekid, this is it. We're going to try to capture this wild Pokemon and add it to our team."

Elekid looked at his trainer, and then nodded as if understanding what would be expected of him in this battle. Over the course of the last year, Elekid and Ron had begun to trust each other intensely, sometimes just looking at each other in order to communicate.

"Let it have a taste of your Thundershock attack!"

Elekid rotated its arms like windmills, faster and faster until sparks begun to fly from the electric Pokemon's arms. When enough energy was built up, a stream of electric energy flew from Elekid's body, striking the Pidgey. Like when Squirtle had been hit by the attack, Pidgey was overcome by the attack. This felt almost too easy for Ron.

"Now that should be enough. Nice job Elekid."

Ron grabbed an empty Pokeball from his belt and enlarged it in his hand. He aimed the Pokeball well, as it collided with the small bird Pokemon and opening up, taking Pidgey into the Pokeball in a flash of red light. The Pokeball settled on the ground.

"Did I catch it?"

The Pokeball began to wiggle back and forth as the light in the center of it flashed on and off. Gradually the Pokeball stopped moving and the light stopped flashing on the Pokeball, indicating that the capture was successful.

Ron stared at the Pokeball for a few seconds. He just couldn't believe what he had just done. The Pidgey was his, not only that but Pidgey was the first Pokemon that he had captured all on his own. He walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up.

"Now's the time where any other trainer would do some stupid victory pose and say 'I caught Pidgey,' but I'm not exactly that sort of trainer. I'll just put the Pokeball on my belt and calmly walk away."

Cliché victory poses were probably Ron's least favorite thing that any of his teachers discussed back at the academy. In his Creative Training 101 course, his teacher had an entire day of class devoted to victory poses. Ron instead got out his notes from another class and began to read over them, finding that dong that was more productive than listening to the teacher.

"Now that I think about it, Creative Training 101 was the only Pokemon related course that I didn't get an A in. Must have been that I'm not into creative things when it comes to Pokemon. That or I just don't like acting like an idiot when it comes to things I do involving Pokemon. I'm a professional Pokemon trainer now, after all. I battle, I don't coordinate. Being creative isn't really my thing, is it Elekid?"

Elekid laughed alongside its trainer, sharing the feeling that Ron had toward coordinating and Pokemon Contests.

Ron looked up at the sky, noticing that the sun was beginning to set in the sky. He obviously didn't pay attention to what time it was, because the sun was beginning to set and he had no idea how far away he way from Viridian City.

"Let's see…the map said it would be about three miles to Viridian City from Pallet Town. I would guess that by walking about a mile every twenty minutes. That means that it should have taken me approximately an hour to get to Viridian City, give or take a few minutes. Pausing to catch Pidgey took me about ten minutes, and I think I've been on the trail for about forty minutes or so, not including the battle. That means I should be a mile away from the city."

Ron really needed to stop over-analyzing every single little detail of the smallest things like that. Either way, his calculations meant that he was still a good twenty minutes away from city if he kept walking at the same pace he had been going at. Hopefully the sun wouldn't just decide to set all of a sudden, otherwise he would be able to reach Viridan City in plenty of time.

Well, he continued walking about a mile down the road until he noticed a sign on the side of the road. It read:

**Viridian City: Straight This Way!**

"Sweet! I'm almost there. Isn't that great Elekid?"

Elekid nodded and the two of them began to run at a bit faster pace than they had been walking. They were obviously excited about reaching Viridian City, probably because both of them were beginning to get very tired.

"When we get to the Pokemon Center, we're going to have to let you and Pidgey recover from the battles you've been through today. After that we can get something to eat and get some rest. By tomorrow we should be heading into the Viridian Forest."

And so, Ron arrived in Viridian City. There, he and his Pokemon should be able to get some well-deserved rest. Hey, maybe he'll even remember to pick up a sleeping bag like he planned to? Find out next time on the exciting adventures of Ron the Pokemon Trainer!


	4. Viridian City! A New Rival!

Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Meeting at the Pokemon Center! Seth's Past Explored.**

The sun was setting on what had to be the greatest days of Ron's young life. In the course of the day, he had won his first Pokemon battle, officially registered as a Pokemon trainer, and caught his very first Pokemon in the wild.

"On top of all I've done today, I've managed to get all the way to Viridian City. I never realized how close together Pallet Town and Viridian City were. Makes that journey from Saffron City seem a little too long."

However, this was only one small step in his goal of becoming a Pokemon Master. The gym here in Viridian City was way too advanced for a trainer with his experience level, plus he had heard that no one had challenged the Viridian City Gym in awhile anyway because the leader went missing.

If Ron even wanted to challenge a gym leader, he would have to travel north through the Viridian Forest, a journey that would take a few days at the least.

"For all I know, I could end up lost in the Viridian Forest for a week or so. I best stock up on supplies and stuff before I leave this city. Who knows when I'll see civilization again?"

He looked around at the quiet surroundings of Viridian City. Ron did notice that this city was a big change from the rural setting of Pallet Town. The large buildings and more modern looking houses made Ron almost feel at home here in Viridian City…it reminded him of home.

"Viridian City is nice; I wouldn't mind retiring to this city when I'm all done as a Pokemon trainer. Would get me out of the spotlight I'm always in back at home, but would keep me in the city setting I've grown so accustomed to over the years."

Right…Ron's past wasn't exactly something he liked to discuss with other people. It was the reason he had become a Pokemon trainer, so he could escape the pressure of being the son of a gym leader. That's right, Ron's father is none other than the Saffron City Gym Leader and the reason that he left Saffron City.

Ron was so sick of people comparing him to his father when he was Ron's age. They always would tell Ron that when his father was thirteen, he was already an accomplished Pokemon Trainer who was the favorite to become the new Gym Leader when the former one Sabrina had decided to retire.

"I never wanted to be like my father, to have to stay in one place all the time. He even tells me today that he wishes he would've gotten a better chance to see the world. In a way he inspired me to become a Pokemon trainer."

As he was walking, Ron was keeping an eye out for the Viridian City Pokemon Center. He knew that it was where any trainer could stay for the night and get some rest. In a way, Pokemon Centers were like hotels, and in another way they were like hospitals. Ron looked around for the large white building with a red roof and Pokeball symbol over the door, because he knew that was what a Pokemon Center looked like.

"Now I'd expect the Pokemon Center to be in the middle of the city, but that's just my way of looking at things I guess."

For was surprised that the people that designed Viridian City thought the same way that he did. Sure enough, the Pokemon Center was right in the middle of town. It looked exactly like the Saffron City Pokemon Center that Ron had passed from time to time when he and Elekid would roam the streets, trying to stay out of the public eye as much as possible.

Ron approached the doors of the Pokemon Center, which opened automatically to reveal a large lobby. Ron saw dozens of Pokemon trainers either sitting down on one of the couches scattered around the lobby or in line for either Pokemon care or a room for the night.

"Right, so this is what a Pokemon Center is like on the inside. It's a wonder I never went into one of these things."

A young girl just stared at Ron as he talked to himself, obviously not used to someone like that.

She had long brown hair that went down past her shoulders, and overtop her head she wore a black snow cap with a yellow Pokeball image emblazoned on it. She had on a black, sleeveless shirt and yellow shirt that went down to a few inches above her knee. She was carrying a black messenger bag with a yellow flap to keep the bag closed.

Standing next to her was a small lizard like Pokemon, which Ron quickly scanned with his Pokedex:

"**Charmander, the fire lizard Pokemon. The flame on its tail indicates its level of power and fighting experience. It is said that when the flame goes out, Charmander will die."**

"Wow! A Charmander is one of the Pokemon that Professor Oak gives away to new Pokemon trainers."

The girl responded, "Yeah, Charmander is my Pokemon. I just received my Pokemon training license and received this Charmander as my first Pokemon. By the way, my name is Emma."

Ron said, "Nice to meet you Emma. My name is Ron, and I'm also a beginner Pokemon trainer."

Emma smiled at Ron, "It's really nice to meet another beginner out there, and I was starting to feel as though I was the only one. Hey I was just about to grab something to eat, would you mind joining me?"

"Ron nodded, "First I'm going to give my Pokemon to the people here at the Pokemon Center so they can treat my Pokemon's wounds and such. After that I'd be glad to join you for some food."

Ron didn't realize how hungry he was, and he didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to sit down and talk to a nice girl like Emma. However he cared about his Pokemon and wanted to make sure they would recover from any damage they may have sustained from their adventures today.

He waited his turn in line at the counter, and when it was finally his turn he was greeted by a smiling young lady with bright red hair. She was wearing a nurse's uniform, so Ron guessed that this was none other than one of the famous Nurse Joy that ran the Pokemon Centers across the world.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center in Viridian City, where we always do our best to make sure your Pokemon are kept in fighting condition. My name is Nurse Joy, how can I help you tonight?"

Ron said, "Well, I was wondering if you could take care of my Pokemon. They've been through some tough fights today and I was wondering if you would be willing to help them recover."

Nurse Joy smiled, "Of course, I'd be glad to help your Pokemon. Just put their Pokeballs on this tray and we'll take care of the rest."

She reached for the top tray on a pile to her left. It had spaces on it for six Pokeballs. Ron grabbed for the two Pokeballs that contained his Pokemon from his belt and placed them on the try. He handed the tray to Nurse Joy, who in turn handed the tray to a small bright pink Pokemon wearing a nurse's hat. Ron noticed a small pouch on the Pokemon that held an Egg in it. He wondered what the egg carried inside of it.

The Pokemon let out a cheerful cry of "Chansey!" before going through the automatic door to the back room of the Pokemon Center, where Ron knew his Pokemon would be treated for their injuries.

Nurse Joy turned to Ron, "As soon as your Pokemon are back to fighting condition, we'll call you on the intercom system. What's your name young man?"

Ron responded, "My name is Ron. Thanks a lot Nurse Joy, this means a lot to me and my Pokemon."

Nurse Joy smiled, "Anytime Ron. Before you go, there is one thing I'd like to ask you. Will you be staying the night at the Pokemon Center?"

Ron didn't expect this question, but it was welcomed. He knew eventually that he would have to figure out this whole hotel thing in the Pokemon Center.

"Yes please, I'd like a room if it isn't any trouble for you."

Nurse Joy reached under the counter and grabbed a key. Then she handed the key to Ron. It had the number 215 on it.

She explained, "This is your room key, and the number on it corresponds to the room number. Room 215 is on the second floor."

Ron thanked Nurse Joy once again and went to search for Emma. It wasn't long before he saw her standing near the entrance to the cafeteria. Ron noticed that she had returned her Charmander to its Pokeball, which was no surprise to Ron because any sensible trainer would keep their Pokemon in its Pokeball at most times.

Ron approached her, and she looked up when Ron called out her name. She smiled as she led Ron to the line where they could get their food. It was just like the cafeteria at the academy, except with better food. Ron picked out a Caesar Salad with fresh lettuce and crunchy croutons. For a drink, Ron grabbed a bottle of water from the open ice box. Emma grabbed a warm cup of Chicken Noodle soup and bottled water from the same ice box Ron had gotten his drink from.

They went to a table in the corner and sat down. Ron started the conversation.

"So Emma, where are you from?"

She looked up from her soup, "I'm from Pallet Town myself, how about yourself?"

"I'm from Saffron City."

Emma looked a little shocked. "You came here all the way from Saffron City? Wow that's a long way to travel. It must be nice to live in such a large and well-known city like that."

Ron nodded, "Yeah, it is a nice city. There are some pretty famous landmarks like the Kanto-Johto Monorail system, Sliph Co., and the Fighting Dojo."

Emma chimed it, "Don't forget the Saffron City Gym. The leader there is one heck of a Pokemon trainer."

Ron didn't want to brag about being the son of the very gym leader she was talking about, so he kept his mouth shut about it for the time being.

There was something he wanted to ask her though. She said she came from Pallet Town, so maybe she knew something about that trainer Seth that Ron had met outside of Pallet Town. After all, if they both lived in the same small town and were the same age, weren't they likely to know each other?

"Hey Emma, you wouldn't happen to know a trainer named Seth would you? He's about as tall as I am, wears this black and red polo, and has short black hair. Sound familiar to you?"

Emma nodded, much to Ron's expectations. "Yeah I know Seth. He went to school with me, but he left a little early to become a Pokemon Trainer instead of finishing his junior high education. He acts kind of cold toward other people, but that's just because he doesn't have any parents."

Those words were like an echo in Ron's ears…"…no parents…no parents…no parents…" This would explain Seth's aggressive nature, as most of the time people that didn't have parents growing up act aggressive in order to make up for the lack of comfort they received as a child.

Ron felt shocked, "I never knew…I just thought he was a competitive person. Poor guy…"

Emma sighed, looking down at the table before looking back up at Ron. "Well, he had every opportunity to get adopted by a loving family, but he always refused adoption offers. He's a loner by choice."

Ron wanted to delve more into this conversation, but before he could say anymore, he heard Nurse Joy's voice on the intercom.

"Attention. We need Pokemon trainer Ron at the front counter. His Pokemon are ready to be picked up."

Ron smiled at Emma, "It was really nice meeting you. Thanks for telling me what you know about Seth. I hope to see you around sometime, maybe we could battle or something?"

Emma nodded, "That would be nice Ron. Actually, I was about to go on my way also. Maybe our paths will cross again someday. Until then, good bye."

Ron left money to pay for his food and left the cafeteria. Emma left also, and the two of them said their good byes once again when they reached the lobby, where Ron would go to pick up his Pokemon. Within no time at all, he was over near the part of the counter will a sign hanging over it saying:

**Pokemon Pick-up**

Ron expected to see Nurse Joy over here waiting for his arrival, but instead he just saw the same Chansey from before…or was it another one. Ron talked to the nurse Pokemon.

"Uh…hi. I'm Ron, and I'm here to pick up my Pokemon."

Chansey nodded, and the jolly pink Pokemon went and got a try with two Pokeballs on it from a table on the other side of the counter. The Pokemon handed the tray to Ron, who took the two Pokeballs from it and put them back onto his belt.

Chansey let out a high pitched "Chansey!" before going to the back room, perhaps to assist Nurse Joy, who was no where to be seen in the lobby.

Ron looked up at a clock, which read 7:47. It was getting late, and Ron wanted to be able to get up as early as possible to get to Viridian Forest. He found the stairwell, which he walked up to reach the second floor. He began to walk down the hallway, looking for his room. It was only a matter of time before he found a plain white door with a bronze plate on it. On the plate was engraved the number 215, the same number that was on Ron's key.

Inserting the key into the lock, Ron opened the door. He took a look inside the room, which was very plain. There was a wooden framed bed with two soft-looking pillows and a cotton blanket on it. Next to the bed was a small table with a simple-looking lamp on it. Ron noticed a closet off to the side, but instead he just threw his things on the carpeted floor next to his bed, which he proceeded to collapse onto…falling asleep.


	5. The Beast of the Forest!

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Insert Title Here**

"Ah! Where the heck am I?"

Ron had been asleep when, during one of his random dreams where he was rolling down a hill, he fell off the bed and hit his head on the floor with a loud "Thud!" The funny thing was that when he woke up, he had no idea what he had just dreamed about before falling off the bed.

"This happens all the time, and I still have no idea why. Maybe I should go to one of those people who interpret dreams…oh wait."

It occurred to Ron that he could only get a dream interpreted if he actually knew what happened in the dream. It would seem quite silly of him to turn up at a sleep specialist's office and ask him why he was falling off the bed at night without being able to tell him what the dream was.

"Well, I shouldn't worry about this falling of the bed thing. Most of the time I drag the pillow or blanket along with me to soften the blow. Could be my unconscious mind at work, but regardless I'm fine."

Ron lifted himself up from the floor, and then picked up the pillow that had rolled off the bed with him. He set it back on the bed and stretched a little bit. He grabbed his backpack, along with his Pokemon's Pokeballs, from the floor he had set them on before falling asleep. He then grabbed the key to the room from the small table near the bed and headed out the door and into the hallway, where he bumped into a familiar person.

Emma laughed, not expecting Ron to just pop out of a random door as she walked down the hallway.

She looked at Ron, "Hey Ron! Funny thing is, I decided I was best off staying here for the night and got a room. So I guess you're heading out to the Viridian Forest right?"

He nodded, "Yeah I plan on it. First I'm going to have to go to the Pokemart and get a tent or sleeping bag or something. Seems I forgot to bring one with me when I left."

"I guess you're a little confused," said Emma, "You can't get a tent or sleeping bag from the Pokemart. You'd have to go to the general supply store if you want to do that."

Ron shrugged, "Well I guess I would have figured that out eventually, but thanks to you I won't seem like an idiot at the Pokemart."

Emma smiled, "Well, I guess I'll see you around then."

Ron said, "I hope so, I still need to get around to battling you right?"

Emma nodded and the two of them went their separate ways when the reached the bottom of the stairs at the end of the hallway. Emma went to the main desk where she was going to give her Pokemon some rest, and Ron dropped off the key to his room in the drop-off box and headed out the sliding door.

The sun shone down on Ron. He always did like bright sun welcoming him in the morning as he went outside to greet the new day. He stared down the road, searching for any sign of a general store. He noticed the Pokemart with its blue roof similar to that of the Pokemon Center, but he saw no sign of a general store of some sorts.

"It would've been so much easier if the Pokemart just stocked tents and sleeping bags like I thought they would. Instead they have to make some completely different store for those kind of supplies…the kind of store that probably doesn't have a freakishly blue roof that makes it easy to spot."

Ron decided the best thing to do first would be to search north for the general store, since he would be going in that direction eventually if he wanted to reach the forest. It wasn't too long before he came along a old-fashioned, wooden store. It had a front porch lined with small benches and a soda machine, but more importantly a sign over entrance that read:

**Viridian City General Store**

Ron walked up the steps and opened the door which, unlike the door of the Pokemon Center, had to be opened by actually opening the door with a twist of the plain-looking doorknob.

Once inside, Ron was greeted by a kind looking old man with a blue pair of suspenders and a red shirt. Ron noticed the man's long white beard and bald head, the seemingly standard looking for an old man. Ron approached the counter and started conversation.

"Hello sir, I was wondering if you happened to have a tent or sleeping bag you would be willing to sell me."

The old man smiled, "Of course we have all sorts of camping supplies. We have everything from your standard tent and sleeping bag combo to state-of-the-art cooking devices and anything else you can imagine."

"I'd just like the standard tent and sleeping bag combo please."

The old man was a tad disappointed that he couldn't sell any of his more expensive gear. Surprisingly, Ron already had some cooking gear and even a few of those "quick and easy" meals that he noticed were for sale at this store.

The old man went to the back room to fetch what Ron needed. He returned with an easy to carry, portable tent and sleeping bag combo kit Ron had heard much about. The tent and sleeping bag were both rolled up together in a convenient carrying case that could easily be fit into one of the compartments of his backpack if folded up properly.

"Alright, one tent and sleeping bag combo kit for ya. That'll be sixty dollars."

Ron reached for his wallet from the front right pocket of the jeans he was wearing. Out of the wallet he pulled three twenty dollars. He handed the money to the old man, who put it into the cash register. With the transaction complete, the old man handed Ron his purchase, which Ron immediately put into an empty compartment of his backpack. Much to Ron's expectations, the kit fit nicely into his backpack.

The old man said, "Have a nice day young man, and good luck getting through the Viridian Forest. I hear people have been spotting a monster in those woods these days."

Ron thanks the old man for the warning and left the store, heading north toward the town exit. He could see the forest begin to take over the scenery, as the large buildings that populated Viridian City began to give way to equally towering trees. The concrete path turned into a dirt path, which Ron used as a reminder that he was now in Pokemon territory.

Once in the Viridian Forest, Ron began to talk to himself about what that old man had said about a monster in the forest.

"If there really is some sort of monster in this forest, it has to be a Pokemon…right?"

He silently agreed with himself and walked down the dirt path, always turning around every few seconds or looking deep into the trees to make sure that nothing was following him. It wasn't long before he saw a figure in the distance that looked like it could be a human.

Ron approached the figure and realized that it was in fact a human. He was wearing shorts and a white tee-shirt, along with a weaved hat and bug-catching net. The boy began to speak to Ron.

"Well, you're not that monster that they keep talking about in these woods. Who are you?"

Ron reached out his hand to shake the hand of the boy. He said, "My name is Ron. I'm a traveling Pokemon trainer."

The boy smiled, "The name's Sam, I'm a bug catcher. It's good to see another Pokemon trainer around here. I have friends that look for bug Pokemon around these woods, but it's not often I see someone from the outside. Not after the rumors of the monster of Viridian Forest started spreading around. How about a one-on-one battle?"

Ron nodded, as he was eager to have another Pokemon battle after that battle with Seth. He quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, just as Sam did the same thing. They both sent their Pokemon out of their Pokeballs at the same time. In two flashes of red light, two Pokemon came out of their respective Pokeballs.

From Ron's Pokeball came the small bird Pokemon that Ron had caught the other day, the Pokemon that represented the beginning of his journey…Pidgey.

It let out a cry, "Pidgey."

Taking its place in front of its trainer, Pidgey stared at its opponent, which came out of its Pokeball at the same time. That Pokemon was a Caterpie, a green worm with a light yellow underside and large red antenna. Ron got out his Pokedex, scanning the Pokemon:

"**Caterpie: the tiny caterpillar Pokemon. This small bug Pokemon attacks by shooting string from its mouth to trap its foes, then strikes them with a full force tackle."**

"Oh wow, a Caterpie. I've always wanted to see one of those in combat."

Sam said, "Well you're about to see one in combat right now. Caterpie, shoot a String Shot attack at Pidgey to stop it in its tracks!"

Ron wouldn't let this fight end that quickly. If the Pokedex was right, and Ron was pretty sure it was, if Caterpie got Pidgey trapped it would only be a matter of time before this fight was over.

"Pidgey, gain height in the air to avoid the attack, then sweep down low at Caterpie, kicking up the dirt on the ground as you pass to blind Caterpie!"

Pidgey flew upward, just avoiding a stream of sticky string that shot upward towards where Pidgey was. When Pidgey noticed the string pass it, the bird began its dive, getting to about a foot above the ground. As the agile Pokemon approached Caterpie, it flapped its wings hard and flew upward again, leaving a cloud of dirt in its wake.

Ron underestimated the strength of the attack, as the cloud overcame Caterpie almost completely. The Pokemon was in a panic, as it didn't know where it was or where Pidgey was. Seeing the confusion in the eyes of Sam, Ron knew it was time to strike for a hit this time.

"Pidgey, tackle into Caterpie at full force. Give it all you got!"

Pidgey swooped in at full force, aiming to hit the small bug Pokemon dead-on. Caterpie was hit and was sent flying backwards from the attack. Following the attack, Pidgey flew back toward the vantage point it had high above the trees.

Caterpie recovered from the blow and prepared itself to continue the fight. At this time, Ron began to notice something in the bushes. Sam noticed it too. Before wither of them could react, a long green vine shot out from the bush, hitting Caterpie. This time Caterpie didn't get back up.

Sam stared in amazement, "What the heck is that? Could it be that monster people have been talking about?"

Ron grinned, knowing that if this really was the monster, he could begin his legacy right here and now by capturing whatever this strange beast was…it was a Pokemon…right? Find out next time!


	6. The Beast of the Forest! Part 2

Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Monster of Viridian**

The strange Pokemon that had attacked Caterpie in the middle of its fight against Pidgey revealed itself, leaping out of the bushes where the initial attack had come from. The Pokemon was only a foot or so tall, with a blue body and large bright green bulb on its back. It twitched its left ear, and then looked to where its opponent had gone.

Sam had returned his Caterpie to its Pokeball when it fainted, in order to keep it from getting any more damage dealt to it. The Pokemon was one Ron was a little familiar with, as it was a common starting Pokemon for beginning trainers, the one that Ron would have gotten had he needed a first Pokemon from Professor Oak.

"Bulba…" The Bulbasaur let out a growl, obviously angry that Ron and Sam were in what it considered its own property in the forest. Because Caterpie had disappeared, Bulbasaur turned its attention to Ron. The grass-type Pokemon rammed at Ron at full speed.

Bulbasaur made contact with Ron at full force, sending the young trainer flying back and to the ground. Ron had been in the process of getting his Pokedex out, and because of that the Pokedex went flying out of his hand, slamming into a tree.

"Gah! Pidgey, I'm going to need your help here. Get this Bulbasaur off of me!"

Ron almost forgot about Pidgey, who had been observing the fight from above, where it had went to stay out of range of Caterpie's attacks. The bird swooping downward, wings spread out wide as it began its attack on Bulbasaur.

Pidgey collided into the Bulbasaur, however that wasn't enough . Bulbasaur was larger than Pidgey and was easily able to endure the blow for the most part. Luckily the shock from the blow knocked Bulbasaur off balance, which allowed Ron to throw the Pokemon off his chest and stand up.

Ron dusted off his clothes and glared at the Bulbasaur.

"You want a fight? Well you got one right here. Pidgey, try using your wings to create a gust of wind to blow back Bulbasaur."

Pidgey flapped its wings rapidly, creating a swirling tornado of wind that was headed straight for Bulbasaur. The Pokemon didn't have enough time to react and was blown back by the forceful wind. Like Ron's Pokedex, the Pokemon slammed into a nearby tree.

"Awesome work Pidgey! While its dazed from the impact of the first blow, tackle it at full force."

Like Pidgey had done before, it flew at Bulbasaur using its full force, throwing its body at Bulbasaur in order to inflict as much pain as it could.

Bulbasaur seemed to be more damaged from this attack than the initial blow, likely because the gust of wind it was hit by shocked it a little bit. The small grass Pokemon could barely move, and Ron seized the opportunity.

Pulling out a Pokeball from his belt, he pointed it at the Bulbasaur as he enlarged the Pokeball.

"Alright Bulbasaur, it's time you stop terrorizing the people of the Viridian Forest and become a great Pokemon for a great trainer."

The Pokeball struck Bulbasaur, opening and sucking Bulbasaur into itself in a flash of red light. Like before with Pidgey, Bulbasaur tried to escape a little bit before eventually giving in. Ron walked over to the Pokeball and picked it up. All the while, Sam stared in amazement.

"Wow, you caught that Bulbasaur. If it really was the monster of Viridian Forest, it will finally be safe to wander these woods again. I really owe you big time."

Ron smiled, "You don't owe me anything. I got a great new Pokemon for my team, and that's all the matters to me honestly. Although if you really want to pay me back, you can have another battle with me."

Sam grinned, "I thought you would say that. However, Caterpie is my only Pokemon and since it's weakened, I'm going to have to head back to the city to get it all healed up at the Pokemon Center. If you really want to battle someone though, just keep walking along the path here. Sooner or later you're bound to run into one of my friends."

After saying their good byes, the two trainers went their separate ways. It was just after Sam left that Ron remembered that his Pokedex had been damaged by the Bulbasaur's initial attack.

A few minutes of searching the area found Ron over by a tree, picking up the Pokedex. Aside from a few minor scratches, it seems to be intact. That was a close one…if he had broken the Pokedex he would have to travel back to Pallet Town to get it fixed or replaced.

"I really have to be more careful with these kinds of things. That was a close one there."

Ron turned to his Pidgey.

I'm really proud of you Pidgey, you fought well today. You deserve a rest."

Ron returned Pidgey to its Pokeball and proceeded down the path, hoping he would run into one of Sam's friends.

Continuing down the path, Ron saw no sign of any other person. He noticed a few Pokemon such as Caterpie and some others that he didn't recognize. One was a yellow caterpillar, whose body looked to be made out of many small yellow balls. ON the top of its head was a stinger. This intrigued Ron…so he scanned it.

"**Weedle: The poisonous caterpillar Pokemon. Weedle likes to roam around forests, feeding on leaves. The stinger on its head is painful, but the poison isn't enough to kill."**

"I should be careful around a Pokemon like this. Either was it looks like a cool Pokemon to train. I'll catch it!"

Ron pulled out a Pokeball from his belt and released the Pokemon within. His electric Pokemon Elekid came out of the Pokeball. Elekid turned to its trainer, awaiting a command.

"Alright Elekid, we're going to try to catch this Weedle. Try to scare it into lowering its defenses…use Leer!"

Suddenly a young boy in similar attire to Sam came out from the trees to the left of the path. This boy was different however, because he had long black hair that rival Ron's hair in length. He ran in front of the Weedle, shielding it from any harm that might come its way. The boy began to speak to Ron.

"Hey! That's my Weedle! Don't even think about trying to hurt it while I'm not watching."

Ron questioned the kid, "Well, why did you leave your Pokemon to roam around on its own anyway? Any trainer could have mistaken it for a wild Pokemon like I did."

The boy shrugged. "I guess I never thought of that. Maybe I should keep a better eye on my Pokemon…especially the first one that I ever caught. My name's Taylor by the way."

Ron reached out his hand to shake Taylor's, offering a sign of friendship. Ron introduced himself to him, as usual.

"Hey Taylor, it's nice to meet you. My name's Ron, I'm from Saffron City."

Taylor grinned, "Saffron City eh? That's a pretty long way from here. I'm from Pewter City, but I know a ton of people who roam these woods."

Ron asked, "Would one of them be a boy named Sam? I battled him somewhere down the road closer to Viridian Forest, but we never got to finish."

Taylor was curious now. Ron figured it was because of the rumored monster that was said to be in these woods. That monster was the very same Bulbasaur that Ron had caught.

"You didn't get attacked by the monster did you?"

Ron coolly said, "Yeah, we were attacked for sure. I took care of that monster though…and now I'm going to train it as my very own Pokemon."

Looking amazed, Taylor said, "Wow…you caught the monster?! That's amazing! What Pokemon was it?"

Instead of telling Taylor what the Pokemon was, Ron thought it was best if he actually showed him the Pokemon. Grabbing the Pokeball from his belt, he sent out his newly caught Bulbasaur. The small grass Pokemon looked up at Ron and smiled, obviously already taking a liking to his trainer because of his obvious fighting talent he showed with his Pokemon in their battle.

Taylor looked at the Bulbasaur in amazement. "Wow, so that would explain the vines shooting out of the bushes that attacked our Pokemon. You know, when I first saw Elekid facing off against Weedle, I thought he might have been the monster…seems silly now right?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "You know, I'm sure there are other Pokemon in these woods people may think are monsters. Bulbasaur sure isn't…but I bet it would make Bulbasaur happy if he could have a battle right now."

Taylor grinned, grabbing another Pokeball from his belt. He enlarged the Pokeball and threw out his Pokemon that he would be using in the battle.

The Pokemon looked like an oversized bee, complete with wings and a stinger on its body. Ron wanted to know what this Pokemon was, so he scanned it.

"**Beedrill: the bee Pokemon and fully evolved form of Weedle. Unlike Weedle's weaker poison, Beedrill's poison can even cause life-threatening damage to humans and larger Pokemon."**

Ron would have to be careful fighting this Pokemon. He knew that Bulbasaur was part Poison type, so at least Ron wouldn't have to worry about Bulbasaur being seriously poisoned.

"Alright Bulbasaur, are you ready for a battle?"

The grass Pokemon nodded at Ron and prepared itself for battle. Beedrill made the first move.

"Beedrill, give Bulbasaur a taste of your Poison Sting!"

Beedrill reared itself back as the stinger on its body glowed. A rapid assault of small clear needles shot from its stinger, heading right toward Bulbasaur! Ron would have to act quickly to protect his Pokemon.

"Alright Bulbasaur, jump back and avoid the needles, then strike back with a Vine Whip attack!"

Bulbasaur did as commanded, just barely avoiding the spray of needles heading its way. Immediately after landing on the ground, Bulbasaur released vines from its bulb and sent them in the direction of Beedrill.

Wow…this fight is going to get intense. Read on next time to see what happens!


	7. The Boy and the Moon

Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Finally Leaving the Forest? The Moon Shows its Face!**

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip attack!'

Vines erupted from somewhere in the bulb of Ron's new grass Pokemon, streaking toward the oversized bee that was its opponent. The vines were fast enough to catch Beedrill off guard and strike it with considerable force, though it endured the bulk of the blow.

Taylor cried, "Alright Beedrill, use your Fury Attack on Bulbasaur! Don't give it a chance to recover."

Beedrill shook off the shock from the Vine Whip and began to charge at Bulbasaur, brandishing the needles on its feelers like swords. Bulbasaur was hit time and time again by the sharp points, causing immense pain.

"Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed while its close."

Bulbasaur managed to focus enough to release three seeds from the depths of its bulb, spraying them over the Beedrill, where they took root. The vines that came out of the seeds entangled Beedrill, draining its energy as it sank closer to the ground in pain.

Ron saw an opportunity to end the fight. "Alright Bulbasaur, tackle into Beedrill at full force. Show 'em what you're made of!"

Bulbasaur tackled into Beedrill, sending it back into a tree, which it hit. Following the impact of the blow, Beedrill sank to the ground…defeated.

Taylor returned his fallen Pokemon to its Pokeball. "Wow, that Bulbasaur showed me up again!"

Ron appeared puzzled…these forest people were strange folks. They were nothing like the Saffron City citizens that Ron had grown so used to avoiding time and time again. Instead of being pretty much predictable, Taylor made Ron think.

"Again? You mean you've have battles with my Bulbasaur before?"

Taylor nodded, 'Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned before that I've battled this Bulbasaur before. You see…I didn't know at first it was the so called monster, but I still wanted to see it for myself. Then I met Sam, and he told me about how they considered it a monster in these woods."

Ron said, "Well, I can understand that. Most of the time, only bug Pokemon appear in these woods right? I can understand people thinking that something was a monster because they've never seen it before."

Taylor shrugged his shoulders, "I guess it's a matter of what you're used to right?" Anyway, it's getting late, you should find a place to stay for the night unless you want to travel in the dark to get to Pewter City…and it would be about a 10 mile trip."

Ron hadn't noticed that it was getting dark, as he could barely even see the sun because of the trees that had completely covered his view of anything in the sky. Well, Taylor and other people like him must be used to the woods and know how to tell when it was dark. That or he had a watch…

"Well Taylor, it was nice meeting you. You wouldn't happen to be heading back to Pewter City would you?"

Taylor shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm actually going in the opposite direction as you. You see, I have some things I have to take care of in Viridian City. It was nice meeting you though."

Ron smiled; he was glad to have made another friend in the middle of no where. Come to think of it, he had already meet more friends than he ever had back home. He was the quiet type in school, the kind that never made any friends because everyone thought they were weird because they would never talk to anyone. He guessed things were different now that he was a Pokemon trainer.

"Well, I might as well find a place to sent up camp for the night. I wouldn't want to have to walk around here at night…even though it might as well be night right now."

He laughed to himself as he searched around for a suitable place to set up his tent. Elekid and Bulbasaur, who were still out of their Pokeballs but still close to Ron, helped him to find a soft and rock-free spot of ground. In a matter of minutes they found a suitable clearing, complete with a rock that he could prepare breakfast on tomorrow morning and a nice calm aura to it.

He pulled the tent and sleeping bag kit he had bought earlier that day from his backpack and took it out of the protective bag it came in. With the help of his Pokemon, it was only a matter of time before he had the tent all set up and ready to go for the night. He put his sleeping bag inside the tent, then went back to the rock outside where he had set his backpack.

"Hey Elekid, Bulbasaur…how about something to eat?"

His Pokemon nodded eagerly and awaited food from their trainer. Ron grabbed the Pokeball containing Pidgey from his belt and sent the bird Pokemon out of its Pokeball so it could eat too.

"Well…I've got some Pokemon food here for you three and some energy bars for me."

From his backpack he pulled out three prepackaged servings of Pokemon food. He handed each of his Pokemon an opened bag of the small bits of brown matter that apparently was the equivalent of a complete meal for a Pokemon.

Then Ron looked at his own "meal," which was just two energy bars that he had on him at the time. He also had a water bottle, which he drank from. He almost was about to ask his Pokemon if they would trade meals with him, but he just shrugged and opened one of the bars.

"Ew...if this is supposed to be healthy, I'd rather be unhealthy."

Ron thought about what he had just said…why would be want to be unhealthy?

"You know what? Never mind, I'd rather be healthy and eat this crap than eat fattening food and die young."

He was just talking to himself because his Pokemon were too involved with eating to pay any attention Ron didn't really like it when he was ignored, but he didn't mind talking to himself to stay occupied either.

After finishing his food, he looked up at the moon that he just noticed peaking through the trees above him. He remembered when he was younger, how he would always go outside at night to look at the moon before going to bed. There was just something about that strange object in the sky that always seemed to fascinate Ron.

His Pokemon had just finished their food and walked over to where their trainer was sitting. First Elekid looked up at the moon, and then Bulbasaur and Pidgey followed. Ron took notice of his Pokemon around him.

"You know you three…the moon is an amazing thing so high in the sky. It'd like...I'd like to aim as high as the moon as a Pokemon trainer."

His Pokemon seemed a little puzzled by what Ron had said, so he tried to explain it in a more simple way.

"You see…one day I want to be the kind of trainer that all they other trainers look up to, much like how I look up at the moon. I want the respect that comes with being one of the best, not the respect that I seemed to get in Saffron City just because I'm the son of a gym leader."

Elekid seemed to understand what his trainer was going on about, and the other Pokemon were a little slow on the uptake because they didn't know Ron all that well. In time, they would begin to understand why Ron was always pushing himself to be the very best. Only then could they truly be a team, a group that had similar goals in life.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to go to bed eh?"

He returned his Pokemon to their Pokeballs before pulling open the tent. Bringing his backpack along with him, he crawled into the tent, feeling around for where his sleeping bag was. He set his backpack off to the side, and then crawled into the sleeping bag he had just found after a few seconds…after all, the tent wasn't that big!

Slowly, Ron drifted off to sleep…he was eager for a new day to begin. He hoped to reach Pewter City sometime in the next day, after all Taylor said it would only be about ten more miles down the road before he would get there. He could make it ten miles in a few hours.

_Early the next morning…_

Ron awoke to the sounds of the forest. He looked around at his surroundings, noticing that he had rolled around in the middle of the night again. He had the same weird dream again, but still didn't remember it. He crawled out of his sleeping bag and opened the flap on the tent, looking outside at what were his surroundings in the forest.

"Sure is a nice looking forest when the sun is peeking through the trees in the morning. I really should have camped a little bit more when I was still in Saffron City…if there were any places to really camp around the city."

He never was allowed to leave the city limits until he got his first Pokemon Elekid, and even then his father didn't like him leaving the city because of recent activities by that mysterious group Team Rocket.

"I wonder if anything has changed with the Team Rocket situation over in Saffron City…we all know they want to take over the city, but they'll never get the chance as long as my father is the gym leader of Saffron City."

Comforting himself with these words, Ron began to start a fire almost automatically. He would use the fire to heat up some of the food they he had with him. This was some new style travel food that he had, a variety that you just had to heat up in a pan for it to become edible. He picked the package labeled "Diced Potatoes" from his backpack and put in on the small pan he had.

The orange embers from the fire rose up to about the bottom of the pan as the food sitting in the pan became to heat up and cook. In a matter of five minutes the food was ready…or at least Ron hoped so. He quickly ate the food, then packed up his tent and sleeping bag back into his backpack. Before he left the clearing, he removed all traces of the fire, putting it out with a strong wind brought up by the wings of his Pidgey.

"Now Taylor said if I took this path here I would end up in Pewter City in a few hours or so. I might as well get a move on, otherwise I could end up having to stay the night in these woods…again."

The young Pokemon trainer trekked along; the road ahead was pretty uneventful for about two hours. Eventually he reached a wooden sign on the side of the road that read:

**Pewter City: 4 Miles North**

Upon reading the sign, Ron exclaimed, "Alright! I'm almost there."

He looked forward to not only the nice bed at the Pokemon Center, but also to his first opportunity to challenge one of the Kanto League Gym Leaders. IF he managed to win a battle at the Pewter City Gym, he would earn his first of the eight gym badges he needed to compete in the Pokemon League tournament.

What amazing adventures await Ron in Pewter City? Read on next time to find out!


	8. The Pewter City Gym! Vs Onix!

Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**The Pewter City Gym! Vs Onix!**

It seemed so routine, but at the same time, so new. Ron waited in line at the Pokemon Center, waiting for his turn to hand his Pokemon's Pokeballs to the young lady in the nurse uniform on the other side of the counter. He had only been a trainer for a few days, but because of the simplicity that was the Pokemon Center, he sometimes felt like a veteran.

"Thank you for coming to our Pokemon Center. We wish you good luck in your future endeavors."

The kind Nurse Joy behind the counter smiled at Ron as she handed back his Pokeballs. Ron gave a wave to the little Chansey behind the counter who aided the nurse, and the kind Pokemon waved back.

Ron made his way to the cafeteria, which wasn't hard to find because the Pokemon Center in Pewter City looked the same as the one in Viridian City. To his surprise though, this one offered healthier food in the form of vegetarian food, exactly what Ron was hoping for.

It wasn't that he thought killing other creatures for food was wrong, it was just the basis on how the food was prepared that bothered him. He wanted to be healthy and able to travel around as much as possible in his life, and to do that he watched what he ate at all times.

"I'll take a veggie burger, a bag of those whole wheat chips, and a bottle of water," said Ron to the smiling young man behind the counter of the cafeteria.

"Coming right up," he said, writing the order on a piece of paper that he gave to the chef in the back.

Within a few minutes, the cashier handed Ron his food on a plastic red tray, which Ron took to a table to enjoy after paying for his meal.

As he was walking to a table over in the corner, he couldn't help but listen in on a conversation being had by three young boys at another table.

"I hear Brock is one of the best gym leaders in the Pokemon League," said a boy with short blonde hair.

"Yeah, but that Seth kid really showed him up," said another one of the boys, this one with long black hair in a ponytail.

The third boy chimed in, "Well, I don't think any other trainers are gonna beat him for some time now. This was Brock's first loss in awhile."

"_So this city really respects their gym leader…not a surprise to me," _thought Ron, this time to himself. _"This is just like in Saffron City, where everyone praised my father's battle skills. And just how did Seth beat me here to Pewter City?"_

Not wanting to eavesdrop on their conversation any longer, Ron went to sit down at the table and eat his food, which in his opinion wasn't the best food he's ever had, but it was better than that "just add water" stuff he would live off of when he wasn't near civilization.

As he got up after eating, the boy with the ponytail walked over to him, having noticed the Pokeballs at his belt.

"You're a Pokemon trainer right?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah I am, why?"

The blonde haired boy joined the conversation. "Well, if you're planning on challenging Brock to a gym battle, we just wanted to let you know that you have no chance."

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Well you know that kid Seth who beat Brock in a gym battle?"

The third boy, who was a little bit shorter than the others, walked over. "Heh, that must mean you're an even better trainer. Maybe he does have a chance big bro."

The blonde haired boy turned to the smaller boy, "Shut up Tony, we're trying to talk right now…you know, big kid stuff."

Ron didn't have time for this. Before the trio of boys could utter another sentence, he turned around and left for the exit of the Pokemon Center. He didn't need anyone telling him he had a chance or not, he would let his own battling skills decide if he was ready or not for this gym battle.

As he searched around the city for the Pokemon gym, he noticed many buildings, including a few restaurants and a Pokemart. Ron made a mental note to visit the Pokemart here sometime before he left the city.

It wasn't long before he found a large building made of stone with a sign reading "Pokemon Gym" above its doors. Ron approached the large wooden door and pushed it open; it was surprisingly heavy, but he was able to push the door open with a little bit of force.

The inside of the gym looked almost like a cave of some sort, except Ron could see lights set up to shine down upon the battlefield about 20 feet from Ron. There was a door off to the side that must have led to offices or something, but besides that the walls were all stone like the exterior of the gym.

Staring ahead at the battlefield, Ron noticed that it was covered in dirt, with large rocks populating the ground of the field. It looked like what he heard was true; Brock did train Rock-type Pokemon.

From the white door to the side, a young man walked toward Ron. This could be none other than the gym leader of Pewter City…Brock.

He had dark skin and pointy brown hair. He wore olive green pants; a green shirt was visible underneath the dark brown and orange jacket he had on. The most distinguishing feature of Brock was his eyes, which were simply small slits on his face.

As he approached Ron, he began to talk to him. "Well hello there! My name is Brock; I'm the gym leader here in Pewter City. What can I help you with today?"

Ron's first impression of Brock was that he was a very polite young man, but Ron assumed that he would never get to know what a gym leader's true personality was because they were always nice to people who come to their gyms.

"My name is Ron, I'm from Saffron City. I've come here to challenge you to a gym battle!"

Brock smiled as if he was expecting this. "I'd be happy to accept your challenge."

Of course Ron expected this, all gym leaders are required to accept any gym challenges that come their way. He knew this because his father was always battling challengers as the gym leader of Saffron City.

Ron and Brock walked over to the battlefield, each taking their respective sides on the battlefield. Ron, the challenger, took the side closest to the entrance of the gym, while Brock, the gym leader, took the side near the wall furthest from the entrance. A small floating robot came over that Ron recognized as a Gymbot 3000.

The Gymbot 3000 was a recently introduced change to gym battles. It acted as the referee for official league gym challenges. It came equipped with a green and red flag that would be raised when either side has won a battle by KOing an opponent Pokemon.

The Gymbot 3000 announced the rules of the battle. "This will be a two-on-two battle with no time limits. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. The battle is over when one side is out of usable Pokemon. Let the match begin!"

Brock grabbed a Pokeball from his belt, enlarged it in his hand, and threw it into the battlefield. Out came a Pokemon that looked like a rock, but with eyes, a mouth, and arms.

Ron grabbed out his Pokedex to scan this new Pokemon.

"**Geodude: the rock Pokemon. This Pokemon is commonly found on mountains and in caves where a person passing by may mistake it for a rock and not a living thing."**

"Alright Elekid, let's show this Pokemon what we're made of!"

The electric Pokemon stood in a battle stance, glaring down its opponent as it prepared for Ron to give an order for battle. Sparks flew from Elekid, showing the Pokemon was ready for a fight.

"Geodude, let's start things off by tackling into Elekid to knock it off balance!"

Ron needed to think fast because with Geodude's size, there was no telling if Elekid could withstand a tackle from it or not. He noticed that Elekid had positioned itself right in front of a rock. That might come in handy.

"Elekid, dodge the attack and get ready to counter with a Low Kick attack!"

Elekid swept to the side, just avoiding Geodude's attack. Geodude had difficultly controlling itself in movement and slammed headfirst into the rock behind where Elekid was.

Elekid's left leg began to glow bright white. It slammed its left leg directly into the body of Geodude, releasing a huge burst of energy in the process. Geodude appeared stunned from the assault.

"Now's our chance Elekid, use your Low Kick again, but this time try to kick Geodude into another one of the rocks in the battlefield!"

Brock cried out to his Pokemon. "Quick Geodude, use your Bide technique to endure the blow!"

Geodude braced itself for the attack. When Elekid's attack struck the rock Pokemon, it only budged a little bit. Ron noticed that Geodude glowed white momentarily before turning back to normal.

"Alright, let's do it again Elekid! Keep attacking it until its KO'd!"

Time after time, Elekid kicked into Geodude at full force. And every time, Geodude momentarily glowed white again. Before Elekid could kick the Pokemon a third time, Brock yelled another command!

"Alright Geodude, release the energy now!"

As Elekid came at the Geodude, a strong white energy came from seemingly no where out of Geodude. The energy overcame Elekid as it came flying at Geodude, its leg glowing in the same light.

Elekid cried out in pain as the white energy overcame its body. For a few seconds, Ron could see nothing except for the strange energy that came out of Geodude in the place of where Elekid once was. When the light cleared, Elekid was knocked out and lying on the ground. Geodude stood opposite of it, looking triumphant but at the same time exhausted.

The Gymbot 3000 waved a red flag in the direction of the gym leader Brock, saying, "Elekid is unable to battle. Geodude is the winner."

Ron recalled Elekid to its Pokeball. Looking at the Pokeball he said, "Elekid, you did great out there for your first gym battle. I'm proud of you buddy."

He returned the Pokeball to his belt and got out another one, this one containing Bulbasaur.

"Alright Bulbasaur, it's all up to you!"

The small grass Pokemon with the bulb on its back looked over at Geodude and could tell that it was exhausted. Ron figured that he would be able to take out Geodude without much trouble, but it was the next Pokemon after that he was worried about.

"Use your Vine Whip attack on Geodude! You can do it Bulbasaur!"

Geodude attempted to dodge the vines shooting in its direction, but it was just too tired to even move. The blow critically damaged Geodude, sending it flying backwards and into a rock, much like Ron had planned for Elekid's second Low Kick attack. Like Elekid before, Geodude was knocked unconscious by the blow.

The Gymbot announced in its robotic voice, "Geodude is unable to battle. Bulbasaur is the winner." This time though, it waved a green flag in the direction of Ron, signaling that the challenger was the winner of that battle.

Brock smiled at Ron, "You're pretty good, but let's see how you do against my Onix!"

He returned Geodude to its Pokeball before grabbing a second Pokeball from his belt. This one opened to reveal the largest Pokemon Ron had ever seen. It looked like a snake, but its body was made out of large boulders that gradually became smaller at it went from head to tail.

Bulbasaur seemed a little nervous, but so was its trainer. Ron was even too tense to get out his Pokedex. He knew he had to buckle down and fight this battle out one way or another.

Ron gave the first battle order. "Bulbasaur, use a Leech Seed attack! We need to drain Onix of its power as quickly as possible!"

Seeds shot out of Bulbasaur's bulb on its back, heading straight in the direction of Onix. The large rock snake batted the seeds away, sending them flying clear out of the battlefield. Obviously Ron needed to rework his strategy.

Brock yelled to his Pokemon, "Okay, now it's our turn! Onix, bind Bulbasaur and keep it from moving."

Bulbasaur tried to get out of the way, but Onix was just too large to be avoided. Once it had Bulbasaur in its grasp, Ron felt as though there was no way out of this fight except by losing.

And then it suddenly hit him…Bulbasaur knew the attack Sleep Powder. He wouldn't have known this if he hadn't looked up Bulbasaur's move list up on the Pokedex earlier that day. If he could pull of a Sleep Powder attack successfully, maybe he could win this fight.

"Onix, keep squeezing the energy out of Bulbasaur, I can tell its weakening!"

Ron cried out to his struggling Pokemon. "Bulbasaur, send Onix to dreamland with a bit of your Sleep Powder!"

Bulbasaur nodded and almost immediately a blue powder came from the inside of its bulb. The little particles made their way up to Onix's face. It breathed in the powder, causing it to fall asleep. This weakened it's grip on Bulbasaur, giving it a chance to strike back hard!

"We got this now Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip attack! It seems to be effective against Rock-type Pokemon!"

Onix stayed asleep even through the whiplash of the vines from Bulbasaur. Brock began to get worried that he would lose the fight, as he continuously urged his sleeping giant to awaken before it was defeated. Eventually Onix began to stir around, obviously waking up.

"We have to end this fast Bulbasaur, and I have just the plan to do just that. Instead of hitting Bulbasaur with your vines, grab it with the vines and slam it hard into the ground with all your might!"

As the vines wrapped around Onix's neck area, the large Pokemon began to wake up a little more. However by the time it knew what was going on, the vines were already wrapped tightly around the Pokemon. Using all of its might, Bulbasaur slammed Onix onto the floor of the battlefield with a loud "THUD!"

The Gymbot 3000 examined the fallen Onix. Soon after it decided on the condition of the Pokemon, it raised its green flag in the direction of Ron. "Onix is unable to battle. Bulbasaur is the winner. This match goes to the challenger!"

Brock recalled his fallen Pokemon to its Pokeball and walked toward Ron. In one hand, he held the Pokeball of Onix. In the other hand, he held something shiny that he had just pulled out of his pocket.

"Ron, here is the Boulder Badge. This badge is proof of your victory over me in the Pewter City gym. Carry it with pride."

Ron thanked Brock, and then took the badge into his own hand. The badge was grey, much like a rock. It went well with the theme of the gym. He stared at this badge, this symbol of his first gym victory. His father would be so proud of him…


	9. Mt Moon, the Cave of Wonders

Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Mt. Moon, the Cave of Wonders**

Ron had dug through his backpack earlier that morning, checking to make sure that he had everything he needed. One thing that really made him smile was his Pokemon League Badge Case that he had picked up at the Pokemart earlier that morning. Inside of it was the Boulder Badge, proof of his victory over the Pewter City gym leader Brock just the other day.

He had stayed the night at the Pokemon Center in one of their hotel-style rooms, finding it hard to sleep. He was bothered by strange dreams of rockets and space…something that he found strange when he had awakened in the morning.

"I should just ignore these weird dreams…they're nothing, they mean nothing."

Although he kept telling himself this over and over, he knew that it indeed meant something. Before he had left Saffron City to become a Pokemon trainer, he had been considering a different career path.

The man was a high ranking executive of the notorious Team Rocket, and he had been scouting around Saffron City in an attempt to find young trainers that his organization could train to be criminals. Ron accepted his offer to meet at the Pokemon Center one night.

The image of this man was fresh in Ron's mind: the tattered trench coat, the putrid stench of cigarette smoke, the strong look of ambition and the seemingly unquenchable desire for power….

These thoughts just made Ron boil with frustration and hatred. Their offer was clear: Give up his Elekid to them and receive a different more "suitable" Pokemon for a Rocket Grunt. This was an offer Ron had to refuse.

Although Mt. Moon was the only way for him to get to Cerulean City, Ron's underlying reason for wanting to go there was that he had heard rumors that Team Rocket had been spotted around the caves. On the day he met that man, he swore on his life that he would stop Team Rocket from doing evil, whatever the cost.

"So, I should be able to get through Mt. Moon without much trouble as long as long as I stick to this map."

He rolled the Kanto region map back up and put in into the side compartment of his backpack where it would be easy to get to.

It wasn't long before he saw the towering landscape that was Mt. Moon in the distance. Ron began to wonder why Team Rocket would even want to set up operation in this stupid cave anyway…but if they were there, then there must be something of value to them there.

Ron found it strange that he didn't run into any other trainers on this way to the main entrance to Mt. Moon, but he tried to ignore that fact as he made his way up and down hill along the path that led to that natural wonder.

It was about mid-day by the time he made it to the entrance of the cave. A sign outside the entrance read:

"**Entrance to Mt. Moon. Beware of wild Pokemon."**

Ron talked to himself of the situation, "Okay, that's a general warning one would expect when going into a place of this nature."

What caught his attention was writing that someone that obviously added to the sign. It read:

"**This cave in under the control of Team Rocket. Enter at your own risk."**

Ron was enraged by this notice, "So they think they can scare me away from here? There's not a chance in hell of that happening."

This made Ron want to enter the cave even more, and so he did. Hanging from the rock walls of this damp cave were lanterns obviously set up by Team Rocket to make it easier for them to navigate the caverns. They were looking for something here alright, and Ron wouldn't let them find it.

He didn't notice anything strange aside from the unnatural lighting system set up in the cave. He saw some wild Pokemon from time to time, and he could tell they were bothered by the intrusion of humans in their home. One Pokemon that stood out to him was a Geodude, much like the one that Brock used in the gym battle back in Pewter City.

He pondered the prospect of catching one of these durable Pokemon that, despite a weakness to fighting type attacks, was able to withstand Elekid's barrage of Low Kick attacks. This thought was interrupted by an explosion that he heard off in the distance, which scared off the Pokemon around him.

Running to the source of the sound, he first heard a man's voice yell out, "Good job Voltorb, the boss will be happy with our progress through this cavern wall. We're bound to find tons of valuable stuff in this cave the headquarters can work with in our plans for world domination!"

Ron ran out from around the corner, surprising the man. "Not so fast, what exactly are you looking for in this cave…I know its just not just random things you're looking for!"

The Rocket Grunt, wearing the usual black uniform with a red R on his chest, was surprised by the random thirteen year old boy jumping out from around the corner. He cried out, "Hey kid, didn't you read the fine print of that sign?! Enter at your own risk…so that means that you're gonna get it now!"

The Grunt realized that his Voltorb, a Pokemon that looked strangely like a oversized Pokeball, had fainted from the explosion it had created. He recalled it to its Pokeball and grabbed another from his belt. Out came a large rock-bodied Pokemon that looked like a rhino. It let out a roar, intimidating Ron in the process.

He pulled out his Pokedex to scan this Pokemon. This was something the Grunt let him do, it made him proud that he was intimidating this young trainer with his Pokemon.

"**Rhyhorn: the rhino Pokemon. Although it is capable of taking out large buildings with its incredible force, it is not that intelligent of a Pokemon."**

Ron had no choice but to fight this Rocket Grunt here and now. Since Rhyhorn was part rock and ground, he figured that the best course of action would be to use Bulbasaur. After all, Bulbasaur was the one on his team that KO'd Brock's mighty Onix, which was much larger than this Rhyhorn.

"Alright Bulbasaur, come on out! I need your help now!"

The small creature came out of its Pokeball and readily awaited its trainer's commands.

The Grunt smiled, "Rhyhorn, give Bulbasaur a taste of your Flamethrower."

The rock beast reared back its head, building up the fire from inside its body. It let loose a stream of fire that was dead-on to hit Ron's Bulbasaur. Ron didn't know what to do, he froze.

Bulbasaur, seeing his trainer's confusion, leapt into action on its own. It just barely evaded the attack, and then used Sleep Powder on both the Rhyhorn and its trainer. The blue powder that erupted from the grass Pokemon's bulb engulfed the enemies, knocking the two of them out cold.

Ron snapped out of his daze and realized this was the best time to escape. He and Bulbasaur ran deeper and deeper into the cave, hoping to escape the danger they left behind.

They paused to catch their breath when they felt as though they were far enough away to escape that Rhyhorn and its trainer for good. Ron smiled at Bulbasaur and patted it on the head. His Pokemon had rose to the occasion and saved both of their lives back there. He tried to suppress the thought that there might be more Rockets in this cave somewhere, perhaps with more powerful Pokemon than that Grunt.

"Thanks Bulbasaur, if you hadn't thought quickly back there, we'd both be goners eh?"

Ron's friendly little Pokemon looked up happily at its trainer, happy to gain approval for what it had thought was a risky move on its part.

It was then that Ron noticed his surroundings. Large rocks were piled up high in various areas of the cave. Areas of the cave wall appeared to be torn apart, as if someone had come through looking for something. This was clearly the work of Team Rocket.

"They'll pay for what they've done here," whispered Ron. He knew that somehow he had to find a way to stop the Rockets here, but how?

It was then that he and Bulbasaur decided to make their way further into the cave. Along the way, they continued to take note of what were obviously man-made additions to the cave, such as ladders going down deep, bottomless looking holes and lighting arrangements hanging from the walls.

It was not too long before Ron began to hear noise that seemed to echo through the cave. Normally, he would expect this to be the noise of a Pokemon…however with the intrusion of Team Rocket; he figured that it must be a person.

"I can't believe it," complained a mysterious person as Ron got closer to the sound of the voice. "We spent all this time looking through this cave only to find these useless old Pokemon bones…"

Another man, seemingly terrified, responded, "I'm sorry sir, I thought we may be able to use these fossils. You see, down on Cinnabar Island, they're doing research on Pokemon fossils and looking for ways to perhaps revive these ancient Pokemon."

Ron thought to himself, _"If they think they can get away with this, they're wrong."_

He heard footsteps gradually fade off as one of the people up ahead went further into the cave. Ron figured that this would be the executive, an executive that sounded strangely like the man he had met in the Saffron City Pokemon Center.

This was his chance! He tore around the corner with Bulbasaur to confront the remaining person. It was a nerdy looking man with a white lab coat on, much like that of Professor Oak. However this man seemed quite a bit younger then Professor Oak, and a little more tense. Ron took note that the fossils were gone, obviously taken by the executive.

"What…what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!"

Ron replied, "No I'm not, but you're not supposed to be violating this natural wonder like this! Team Rocket can't claim Mt. Moon for their own evil gains."

The scientist shrugged his shoulders, grabbing a Pokeball from the confines of his jacket. Ron wasn't going to let him do what he wanted to do with that Pokeball.

"Alright Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip! Stop him from sending out that Pokemon now!"

He didn't have the time or patience for Team Rocket. He knew that they admired qualities like power and forcefulness, which Ron was exhibiting right then and there.

Bulbasaur managed to prevent the man from sending out his Pokemon, which sent the man into a fit of rage. He kicked at a rock near the ground he was standing on. This rock turned out to be none other than a Geodude. The Pokemon was obviously annoyed at the human that had just kicked it.

The scientist backed away from the Pokemon, obviously afraid that without a Pokemon of his own; the wild Pokemon would beat him to a pulp. Luckily he was able to dive onto his Pokeball and push the release button, sending out his Pokemon. It was none other than other Rhyhorn.

"Geez…is that all the Rocket underlings around here carry with them? Come on, at least come up with an original Pokemon to use."

The scientist, however, ignored Ron's remarks. Instead, he ordered his Rhyhorn to tackle into the Geodude. Prior to being hit, the Geodude began to glow with a strange white outline. As Rhyhorn made impact, it was sent flying backwards and straight into its trainer.

"Argh! Rhyhorn, look what you did! Now my lab coat is all covered in dirt."

He was also being crushed by the weight of his own Pokemon, which he recalled with the Pokeball he happened to be holding in his hand. He struggled to his feet.

"You kid…" He pointed at Ron as his entire body was shaking from the shock of his own Pokemon flying back into him. "You will pay for this!"

Ron laughed as the tall and lanky scientist ran off in the direction of where Ron had come from. He recalled Bulbasaur to its Pokeball, its work done, and continued to walk down the path.

The Geodude that had fought and protected Ron was still sitting back at the same spot it had been in, not having to move at all in order to defeat the large and mighty Rhyhorn. Ron had almost forgotten Geodude when the Pokemon called out to him.

He turned around, looking at the rocky Pokemon. It had came over, closer to Ron. The Pokemon pointed at one of the empty Pokeballs at Ron's belt. He pulled it off his belt.

"You want to come along with me you say?"

Geodude smiled at nodded at the young trainer. Ron was surprised that a wild Pokemon would just want to come along with a trainer like this, but he wasn't going to pass up on a chance like this. Whatever attack Geodude had used on Rhyhorn, it obviously worked.

He tossed the Pokeball in the direction of Geodude, who leaped up from the ground and hit the Pokeball with a slight head butt, opening it and pulling it deep into the device. The Pokeball shook around for a few seconds before the red light in the middle turned off, signaling a successful capture. Ron picked up the Pokeball and stared at it.

"Welcome to the team Geodude."

With that, Ron made his way out of the mysterious Mt. Moon. He may not have been able to stop Team Rocket from taking the fossils from the cave, but he managed to make a new friend. He knew that another day down the road; he would run into Team Rocket again and be given the chance to take them down.

He saw a sign that read:

**Cerulean City: Dead Ahead!**


	10. Cerulean City! The Rivals Rumble!

Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Cerulean City! The Rivals Rumble!**

Ron took in that first breath of city air. He was back in civilization again, away from the dangers of evil forces such as Team Rocket. He knew that wouldn't be the last time he ran into them, and he knew he wasn't going to get as lucky next time.

"I really have to take care of myself better. If I continue to let my Pokemon protect me so much, I'll just get weaker."

This thought stayed on his mind until he reached the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center. The relaxed setting of this haven for Pokemon and their trainers alike eased Ron's mind. He needed this kind of break before he had this gym battle here in Cerulean City.

Nurse Joy kindly took the Pokeballs containing Elekid, Pidgey, Bulbasaur, and Geodude and took them to the back room. Ron hung around the lobby for some time, waiting for his Pokemon to return. Gradually he made his way to the cafeteria, where he was set to order food when he spotted a familiar face.

Despite all the journeying he had to have taken place in over the last few days to get ahead of Ron, Seth's hair was still as neat as ever. He still wore a polo shirt, but this one was blue with white stripes going horizontally across the shirt. He was sitting at a table all alone, eating his meal quietly.

Ron approached the table, waving at Seth. Seth returned the gesture with a slight nod, acknowledging that he knew Ron. Ron sat down across from Seth and began to speak.

"Hey Seth, long time no see. I hope you've been well since we last met."

He pulled out a badge case the confines of his pocket. He opened it to reveal not only the Boulder Badge, but another badge that looked like a drop of water. He saw the look of confusion of Ron's face, so Seth began to explain.

"Well Ron, as you can see I've been fine. Not only did I manage to beat the Pewter City gym leader Brock, but I also managed to beat Cerulean City's very own Misty, the gym leader who gives victorious trainers the Cascade Badge."

Ron smiled at Seth, "Wow, you've really pushed yourself so far haven't you? I've only earned one badge, but the reason I came to Cerulean City was to challenge their gym leader."

Seth replied, "I figured that much. You shouldn't have too hard of a time at this gym. Your Elekid has an advantage against Water-type Pokemon, much like my Squirtle."

Ron had never thought of this, but suddenly it made sense that he wouldn't have much of a hard time at this gym. Either way, Misty was a gym leader, which made her one of the best. This would be a challenge no matter what.

Just then, Seth looked up at Ron from his food.

"You know what Ron? We should have a rematch. This time we can use more Pokemon…what do you say?"

Ron was expecting this. After all, Seth originally greeted Ron with a challenge. This time though, Ron would be forced to use more than one of his Pokemon…although he didn't have more than one last time.

They waited until Nurse Joy called Ron on the intercom to pick up his Pokemon. Seth took notice of the four Pokeballs that were returned to Ron. He would get the longer fight he wanted.

They went outside, and then walked to the city limits, where there would be more room to battle. Seth announced the rules of the match.

"We'll each use three Pokemon. It'll be a best two out of three."

Ron shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a Pokeball from his belt. Seth did the same. They both threw their Pokeballs out. Ron decided he would start with Pidgey, while Seth decided to send out his Pokemon of the sky.

It was a small Pokemon, about the size of Pidgey. The Pokemon was a blue bat-like creature with small, narrow leg-like apparatuses. It had wings that were a bright purple on the interior. Ron scanned it with his Pokedex.

"**Zubat: the small bat Pokemon. Commonly found in caves, this Pokemon is a risk to humans and Pokemon alike, as it likes to bite and drink the blood of other creatures."**

Ron decided he would have to be careful fighting this Pokemon because, according to the Pokedex, it was a Poison-type Pokemon as well as a Flying-Type. He decided Pidgey would start off keeping its distance.

"Pidgey, start up a gust of wind and send it right at Zubat!"

Pidgey obeyed its trainer's command, sending forth a strong gust of wind that stormed in the direction of Zubat. The bat couldn't evade the attack and got caught up in the strong wind.

This worried Seth, as he hesitantly yelled out a command to his Pokemon.

"Zubat, fight the currents…try to escape them somehow and let loose a stream of Supersonic!"

The bat let out a screech, letting loose a stream of visible sound waves. This baffled Ron, as he thought that you couldn't see sound. Well anything is possible in this crazy world.

Pidgey took note of the stream of sound coming at it and swiftly dived toward the ground. Zubat quickly followed it, mouth wide open and baring its fangs.

Seth cried out, "Zubat, bite Pidgey quickly!"

Ron wouldn't let this happen. "Pidgey, you have to fight back! Hit it with your lightning fast speed, use Quick Attack!"

Pidgey began to head straight for Zubat at full speed, leaving a trail of white light in its path. The two Pokemon collided in the air, but because of Pidgey's slightly higher altitude, it was able to push Zubat downward with considerable force. It feel back, hitting the ground hard. It slid across the ground for a few feet before its body came to a halt.

Seth looked a little surprised as he gazed upon his defeated Pokemon, but he wouldn't take this setback lying down. He recalled the bat to its Pokeball before grabbing another from his belt.

At the same time, Ron recalled Pidgey to its Pokeball. He congratulated his Pokemon on its victory.

He then looked up at Seth, "Well, I guess the score is one to nothing now."

Seth nodded as he watched Ron grab another Pokeball from his belt. Again, they both sent out their Pokemon at the same time. This round, Ron decided to use his Bulbasaur, while Seth decided to use his Squirtle.

This time, Seth got the first attack in. "Squirtle, give Bulbasaur a taste of your Water Gun attack!"

Squirtle reared back, and then let loose a burst of water. The high pressure attack nailed Bulbasaur head on. Although the attack didn't seem to do too much damage to Bulbasaur, it shocked the grass Pokemon.

Seth saw this as an opportunity to attack again, "Nice job Squirtle, use your Ice Beam attack on Bulbasaur."

Ron was shocked by this command. Seth must have found a way to teach his Squirtle Ice Beam. With that kind of attack, it could easily take out Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur, you have to evade that attack at all costs!"

Bulbasaur, sensing the urgency in its trainer's voice, did the best it could to evade the attack. The beam of icy energy shot right at Bulbasaur, but the grass Pokemon's efforts made the attack less effective. Instead of hitting its body directly, the attack only hit one of Bulbasaur's rear legs.

Ron thought that would save his Pokemon from a defeat, and so he gave his next command. "Tackle right into Squirtle! Give it all you've got!"

Bulbasaur tried with all its might to run towards Squirtle, but it couldn't. The Ice Beam attack had frozen its right rear leg, preventing it from moving at all.

Seth again saw a chance to attack, this time for the win. "Tackle into Bulbasaur just like it planned to tackle into you!"

Squirtle rammed at Bulbasaur, head first. Bulbasaur managed to move, but not in the way that it had wanted to. It moved backwards, into a nearby tree. Bulbasaur was knocked out on impact, ending the battle.

Ron cursed at nature, and then recalled his Pokemon.

"You did good Bulbasaur, but I know even a Pokemon like you can't win 'em all."

Seth said, "Well, now the score is one to one eh? It looks like we'll have to settle this with one last battle then!"

He recalled his victorious Pokemon, then grabbed a third Pokeball from his belt. Ron did the same, choosing to use his new Geodude in the first. He figured if he was able to pull off that attack it had done before, then he could beat any Pokemon Seth threw out at him next.

Geodude burst forth in a glow of red light. As did Seth's Pokemon…which was a Pokemon Ron had never seen before. This Pokemon looked like a little monkey with tan fur. It held its arms above its head, perhaps to threaten the Geodude that was staring it down. Ron was going to scan the Pokemon to find out information on it, but Seth didn't give him a chance this time.

"Mankey, start things off with a barrage of Fury Swipe attacks! Show no mercy."

The crazed Pokemon scampered towards Geodude, waving its arms around like a madman. Ron knew that the best offense was a good defense, so he ordered Geodude to harden its body in order to prepare itself for the attacks.

The attack seemed to not faze Geodude, which would pay into Ron's favor. He saw this as a chance to get back at Seth for the few times in the battle he had taken advantage of a disadvantage one of Ron's Pokemon had.

"Geodude, slam your body into Mankey! Let it have it!"

Geodude lunged at Mankey; the blow sent the monkey flying backwards and onto its rear. This just made the Pokemon even madder, and so it ignored its trainer's commands, wanting to fight the way it pleased.

It ran at Geodude. As it got closer, it began to prepare for an attack Ron knew as Low Kick. This attack would do massive damage to Geodude if the attack couldn't be avoided.

Because Ron didn't know the name of the strange technique Geodude had done before, he decided for Geodude to instead brace itself for the attack. This didn't make much of a difference, and the impact of the Low Kick attack sent Geodude flying back. One more attack like that and it was over.

"Geodude, we have to think of something fast or this fight is over! Do you remember that attack you used on that scientist's Rhyhorn?"

Geodude nodded, knowing what had to be done if it wanted to win this fight. Mankey began to rush at Geodude, who braced itself as usual.

As Mankey got close, Geodude began to glow again in the same fashion that it had when it was fighting Rhyhorn. The damage from the attack was not inflicted upon Geodude, but instead on Mankey. The agile creature fell backwards again, but was not defeated. It began to attack again, and this time Geodude began to glow completely.

Without waiting for its trainer's command, Geodude initiated a Self-Destruct attack. The fiery explosion engulfed Mankey, inflicting major damage. When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were knocked out and lying on the ground.

Seth looked at his Pokemon, then back up at Ron. "Well, it looks like this match ended in a draw. I learned something today too. Mankey needs to learn to listen to me more. First these antics almost cost me my gym battle in Cerulean City, now it cost me a chance of winning this fight here."

Ron shrugged, "Well, it's not your fault. I mean, look what Geodude did right there. Granted, it showed me its true power…and it saved me from maybe losing this fight."

The two young trainers then laughed. It seemed as though Ron had gained Seth's respect. The two of them shook hands, and then went their separate ways.

Seth explained before leaving, "I'm going north to the famous Pokemaniac Bill's house. I hear he knows a ton about Pokemon, so maybe he could help me on my journey."

Ron thought that would be a grand idea, but he had to accomplish something a bit more important first. He would go to the Cerulean City gym and challenge their gym leader Misty for the Cascade Badge.

Will you come out victorious in his gym battle? Find out next time!


	11. The Cerulean City Gym! Vs Golduck!

Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Cerulean Gym Battle! Vs Golduck!**

Ron had stayed the night in the Pokemon Center. He figured it was the best course of action, as it had gotten late while he was on the outskirts of town battling Seth. This gave his Pokemon a chance to be well rested before their important battle tomorrow. He just hoped this one wouldn't be a tie.

He made his way to the gym, which happened to be a short walk from the Pokemon Center, where he had gotten a quick breakfast to build up his energy for his battle.

The gym was different looking from the Pewter City Gym. It was a large dome with bright colors, much different from the dull shades of gray and brown that made up the Pewter City Gym.

Ron trekked upwards, toward the fancy sliding doors of the gym. What greeted him inside was different from the Pewter City Gym. Into the distance, all Ron could see was a long, winding hallway. There were aquariums on both sides of the hallway, showcasing various aquatic life forms.

"I like this place, it's a tad bigger than the last gym I went to, but that's just fine."

Ron made his way down the hallway, searching for some sign of a battlefield of some sort. Eventually, the hallway ended, giving way to a lobby of some sort. There was a desk decorated with a few nice plants and a expensive looking computer. There was a chair behind the desk, but no one was sitting in it. On either side of the desk there were large double doors.

"I guess this is where I'm supposed to be, but where is everyone?"

Suddenly, the door to the right opened up. A young girl that looked to be about Ron's age stepped forward. She had bright red hair and was wearing a blue swimsuit. Ron guessed that this was the Cerulean Gym Leader.

She smiled at Ron, and then introduced herself. "My name is Misty, and I'm the gym leader. Have you come for a challenge?"

It looked as though Ron was right, this was the Gym Leader. He would have to beat her if he wanted to win the Cascade Badge.

Ron nodded, "Yeah, I'm here to challenge you to a battle. Is now a good time?"

She nodded back at Ron, "Now is fine. I'm sorry that my secretary wasn't here today. Normally she'd set you up with a time for a gym challenge, but since she's not here we can just have the battle now. I'm not busy."

Ron followed her through the door that she had just come from, which lead to a large room with a pool in the middle. He had never seen a pool this large in his life. Nor had he ever seen a pool with a pillar in the middle of it that was covered in grass and a few tall trees.

"So, this is where we'll be battling then?"

Misty nodded, "Yeah, this is the battlefield that we use for challenges. The Gymbot 3000 we have here had to be specially designed to be able to withstand constant splashing."

She pointed to the Gymbot 3000, which looked a tad different from the last one he had seen. This one was blue, perhaps indicating that this one was waterproof.

At this time, Misty took her side of the battlefield. She was on the left side of the room, so Ron assumed that he would be taking the right side of the room. When they both took their place on either side of the pool, the Gymbot 3000 began to speak.

""This will be a three-on-three battle with no time limits. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. The battle is over when one side is out of usable Pokemon. Let the match begin!"

Ron thought, _"So I'm going to have to use three of my Pokemon in this battle? It looks as though I'm really going to have to think this out if I want to earn this badge."_

Misty grabbed a Pokeball out of a small red bag that she had obviously grabbed from somewhere while Ron was gazing off into the battlefield. Instead of sending her Pokemon out onto the platform in the middle of the pool, she threw the Pokeball directly into the pool.

Out came her Pokemon, a small orange and white fish with a large horn coming out from its head. Ron knew this Pokemon as Goldeen. It wasn't a very common Pokemon to see in battles, as it had to stay in the water in order to be an effective fighter.

Ron decided to start this fight out on a good foot, so he grabbed the Pokeball containing his Elekid. His electric Pokemon beamed with energy as it took its place on the platform in the middle of the arena, staring down its opponent.

Ron shouted out to his Pokemon, "I know we may have the type advantage in this fight, but that doesn't mean it's a definite win! We need to be careful because we're in Goldeen's element here."

Misty took note of her opponent's thinking skills, and then ordered Goldeen to charge at Elekid with an attack called Horn Attack.

Ron cried out to Elekid, "Quick! Brace yourself for the attack!"

He believed that Elekid would be able to withstand the blow, which would leave Goldeen in a bad position. As the aquatic Pokemon lunged at Elekid from out of the water, Elekid held up its arms to shield itself from the blow. Right before the attack, Goldeen's horn glowed in a white light, giving it extra power perhaps. Elekid was pushed back by the attack but remained standing firm on the ground.

"Alright Elekid, use your Low Kick attack now!"

Misty shouted, "Goldeen, get back into the water and dive down out of reach!"

Elekid's leg slammed hard into the grass, missing Goldeen entirely. The swift Pokemon was able to evade the attack and jump back into the water, where it would be safe to prepare for its next attack.

And then it hit Ron…water conducts electricity. If Elekid were to channel its electricity through the water, perhaps the attack would be able to reach Goldeen no matter where it was hiding.

"Elekid, go over to the edge of the water and stick your hand into it. Then channel your electric energy into the water! Give it all you got!"

Misty saw what was coming, so she quickly ordered Goldeen to attack Elekid as it went close to the side of the pool. Once again the speed of Goldeen gave it an advantage over Elekid, who was knocked back by another Horn Attack.

Goldeen was high in the air at this point, giving Ron the advantage he was looking for.

"Elekid, once you've recovered from the blow, shock Goldeen good with Thundershock."

This attack missed, as Goldeen went back into the water before the attack could make contact. At this point, Elekid was close to the edge of the platform. It seized this opportunity and punched its arm into the water, sending loose a stream of electric energy that spread throughout the pool, lighting it up in a bright flash of energy.

Obviously struck hard by the attack, Goldeen floated to the surface on its back. The blow had been powerful enough to knock out the swift aquatic Pokemon.

The Gymbot 3000 waved a green flag in the direction of Ron following its scan of Goldeen. "Goldeen is unable to battle. This means that Elekid is the winner!"

Ron pumped his fist and congratulated Elekid on a job well done. The match was far from over, but at least they were able to come out on top in the first round.

Misty returned Goldeen to its Pokeball, and then looked over at Ron. "That was some impressive fighting there. A good Pokemon trainer must know how to use their opponent's elements to their own advantage."

She pulled out another Pokeball from her belt. This one let out a star-shaped Pokemon that could strangely levitate above the water. Ron didn't recognize this one, so he scanned it with his Pokedex.

"**Staryu: the Starshape Pokemon. The red core of its body can regenerate the other parts of Staryu's body in the case of extreme damage."**

Staryu looked like an interesting Pokemon to Ron. He wondered if he should switch out Elekid or not, but then decided not to because the advantage was still his.

"Elekid, let's start things off with your Thundershock attack!"

Elekid built up energy in its body by rotating its arms rapidly, as it always did. When it let loose the stream of electric energy, Misty gave her orders.

"Protect yourself with a Light Screen!"

A purple energy shield was created in front of Staryu, which absorbed the Thundershock attack. Ron liked a good defensive attack, but not when it was being used against him. He also didn't like his Pokemon being limited to fighting on a small platform, while his opponent could make use of the entire battlefield.

"Now let's switch to offense Staryu. Use your Water Gun attack!"

Ron was familiar with this attack from his battles with Seth. From the tip of one of the points on Staryu's body came a rapid stream of water, which headed straight for Elekid. Ron ordered Elekid to evade the attack, which it did.

Ron let out a command, "Brace yourself for whatever comes your way! There's not much we can do at this point."

More specifically, Ron was looking for his opening to attack, as he had done against Goldeen.

Misty said, "Alright, if you're not going to do anything, then we will. Staryu, you need to hit Elekid head on with a Rapid Spin technique!"

Staryu began to spin rapidly as it dove down towards where Elekid was standing. Ron knew that Elekid didn't have time to evade the attack, so their only choice was make an attempt at enduring the blow.

Staryu hit into Elekid at full speed, dealing critical damage to the electrical Pokemon. However, Elekid somehow managed to grab onto Staryu while falling back.

"Elekid, try to keep Staryu where it is now. Set yourself up for a Low Kick and make sure to aim for the core!"

As Elekid's left leg began to glow, it did a front flip to gain a momentum towards Staryu. Its leg slammed down hard straight onto Staryu's core. This cracked the bright red core of the sharshape Pokemon while dealing major damage. The core began to flash, indicating that it had been damaged critically.

The shock on Misty's face was enough to Ron; he had obviously done something that usually did not happen in gym battles.

Again, the Gymbot 3000 waved a green flag in the direction of Ron. "Staryu is unable to battle. This means that Elekid is the winner!"

Misty recalled her Pokemon, and then looked up at Ron again. She asked, "You wouldn't happen to know a young man named Seth…would you?"

Ron was puzzled by this question, but nodded as to say yes.

She continued to talk as she grabbed a third Pokeball from her bag. "Well, he challenged me a few days ago and won. His fighting style was a bit like yours. Like you, he managed to defeat my first two Pokemon with ease. It was this third one he had a hard time on."

She hurled the Pokeball onto the platform. It opened to reveal a tall, human like Pokemon. It was light blue and appeared to look like a duck…only different. On its forehead was a red gem. Ron recognized this Pokemon as Golduck, because his father had trained one.

"Alright Elekid, we're going to have to be careful against this Pokemon. It may be a water-type, but it can use psychic type attacks."

Misty let out the first command of the battle. "Use your Water Pulse attack on Elekid."

Golduck held both of its hands close to each other and began to charge a ball of water in its hands. The ball got larger and larger, forming a ball of water that was continuously rotating at a rapid speed. It released the ball and sent it straight toward Elekid.

"Get out of the way Elekid!"

Unfortunately, Elekid didn't have any time to get out of the way. It was struck by the powerful attack and flew backwards. It slammed into one of the trees on the platform. Misty and Golduck wasted no time.

"Quick Golduck, finish it off with your Fury Swipes attack!"

The duck rushed at Elekid, brandishing its claws. It began to claw at Elekid mercilessly until the small electric Pokemon had enough. Elekid fell to the ground…defeated. This time a red flag was waved in the direction of Misty.

"Elekid is unable to battle. This means that Golduck is the winner!"

Ron recalled his defeated Pokemon to its Pokeball. "You did good Elekid, but one of your friends is going to have to take it from here."

Ron grabbed Bulbasaur's Pokeball from his belt. He sent the grass Pokemon out of its Pokeball and onto the platform where Golduck stood, awaiting its next challenge. The two Pokemon glared at each other, awaiting their trainer's commands.

Ron cried out to his Pokemon, "Let's start things off with your Vine Whip attack!"

Golduck didn't even need a command from Misty to leap upwards to evade the vines rushing towards it. It countered with a Water Pulse attack at Misty's command. Since Bulbasaur was a grass type, the attack didn't do much damage.

It was then that Ron noticed something strange. Bulbasaur began to slam its head into the ground. Ron yelled out to his Pokemon, trying to snap it out of its confusion.

"Golduck! Now is your chance to attack in its confusion. Use your Ice Punch attack now!"

An icy aura developed around Golduck's left claw, which nailed Bulbasaur in the bulb…a direct hit! Bulbasaur almost paid no notice to the icy blow, as it was too busy hurting itself in confusion.

"Bulbasaur, you have to attack back somehow!"

Bulbasaur heard its trainer's command and began to run head-on towards Golduck. The swift fighter brushed off the attack, then countered with another icy strike. This time Bulbasaur would not recover, as it had been defeated by this blow.

Once again, the red flag was waved in the direction of Golduck. "Bulbasaur is unable to battle. This means that Golduck is the winner!"

Frustrated, Ron recalled Bulbasaur to its Pokeball. He had lost all his advantages within a few minutes of being beaten to a pulp by Golduck. He only had one shot left.

"Pidgey, you're my last chance! Come on out!"

The small bird took flight above the battlefield. It surveyed the field, and then found its opponent looking up at it.

"Pidgey, we have to strike quickly! Use your Twister attack!"

Pidgey blew up a powerful tornado of wind much like his Gust attack. This wind however, was a green tornado. Ron knew that this was a powerful dragon-type move, meaning that it was quite a sight to behold.

The tornado caught Golduck in it, blowing it around the battlefield. Eventually it managed to escape the wind currents and leap into the pool. Now Ron was on offense…just how he liked it.

Misty seemed a tad worried, having not told her Pokemon to come up from the water just yet. It seemed as though the fight had reached a stalemate. That is, until he noticed that Golduck had not gone too deep into the pool. He could still see the duck Pokemon.

"Pidgey, use another Twister to bring Golduck to the surface!"

The green tornado, brimming with energy, picked the sitting duck right out of the water. This time, Ron would not allow the duck to escape to the pool, where it would likely dive even deeper.

"Tackle it in midair! Don't give it a chance to escape."

Golduck, who was already being severely damaged by the green energy that made up the tornado it had become trapped in, was hit out of the twister. This time, it wasn't by choice. Instead of landing safely in the pool, it slammed hard onto the platform in the middle of the pool…it was knocked out.

Waving a green flag in Ron's direction, the Gymbot 3000 said the words that Ron had needed to here.

"Golduck is unable to battle. This means that Pidgey is the winner. This match goes to the challenger Ron!"

Pidgey flew back to Ron, happy that it had been able to get a victory for its trainer. Ron ecstatically greeted Pidgey and embraced the bird, happy that it had managed to defeat the Golduck that beat two of Ron's other Pokemon before.

Misty met Ron halfway across the pool, holding in her hand a small, shiny object. "I hereby present you with the Cascade Badge, proof that you have won here in the Cerulean City gym.

Ron took the badge into his hand. He smiled at it, knowing that it got him one step closer to being a Pokemon master…or at least a qualifying trainer for the Indigo League competition.


	12. Across Nugget Bridge!

Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Across Nugget Bridge! Absence of a Challenge!**

Following his victory over the Cerulean City Gym, Ron decided that it would be a good idea to take the advice of Seth and head north towards the home of the famous Pokemaniac Bill.

Ron scratched his head while reading his map. "So they only way to reach the coast is to cross the Nugget Bridge, then head east. Well that doesn't seem to bad. Plus according to this map, the Nugget Bridge is famous for its five trainer ultimate challenge."

Getting to battle against five trainers in a row seemed like a good deal to Ron. After all, he needed training to prepare himself for his next gym battle, and what better way to do so then to battle other trainers.

The start of the Nugget Bridge was a short walk from the Pokemon Center he had stayed the night at. He looked across the bridge, seeing no other people at all.

"The people must be further across the bridge," thought Ron.

He looked left and right as he crossed the bridge, never seeing any other people at all. Maybe everyone was at home or something. It was quite silly of Ron to think that people would be here twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. They were sure to have lives after all.

"How am I supposed to get some training in now?"

Ron groaned as he pressed onward across the bridge. If he wasn't going to get any battles on the bridge, he might as well search for some battles past the bridge. He needed training, and he planned on getting it one way or another.

As he reached the end of the bridge, he noticed a man leaning on a tree that was only a few feet from the end of the bridge. He was wearing all black, but what really took Ron's attention away was the fact that there was a large red R across his shirt. This man was a member of Team Rocket!

He decided to keep his cool as he approached the man. Upon a closer look at the man, he didn't look as though he was too experienced in the ways of Team Rocket. Instead of looking in the direction of the approaching person, he shifted his eyes towards the ground while mumbling to himself.

Ron approached the Rocket, waving at him. "Hey! Would you happen to know where all the trainers are?"

The Rocket looked up at Ron, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Hell if I know. I was just told to wait here for trainers. You're a trainer…right?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I'm a trainer. In fact, I was a trainer looking to challenge the trainers of the Nugget Bridge…but as you can see that didn't go too well."

The Rocket nodded in agreement. "Well, do I have an offer for you! How would you like to become a member of Team Rocket? It pays pretty well and you get the satisfaction of stealing Pokemon from other trainers."

Ron almost punched the man. He had already been through this before with an executive, and he couldn't talk him into joining. What made this Grunt that he could convince Ron to join?

"There's no way I'd join you!"

The Rocket didn't look surprised. "Oh well…then I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson in pain!"

He grabbed a Pokeball from his belt and threw it to the ground. A large bat Pokemon came out of the Pokeball. The blue fiend of the sky looked a bit like Zubat, but this one was a lot larger. Its eyes were wide open and so was its mouth, unlike Zubat.

"**Golbat: The evolved form of Zubat. This Pokemon enjoys flying around at night, looking for victims to suck the blood from."**

Ron grabbed the Pokeball of Pidgey from his belt. Pidgey had been fighting well lately, so perhaps it would continue its string of wins for Ron today.

Pidgey came out of its Pokeball with its wings flapping to keep itself in the air. It stared down Golbat with no fear in its eyes. Obviously its wins lately had given it an extreme confidence boost.

"Alright Pidgey, use your Twister attack on Golbat!"

Pidgey flapped its wings rapidly, building up the same type of green tornado that it had used against Golduck in the Cerulean City Gym. This fight was outside, giving the tornado room to get larger and larger. It swept right towards Golbat.

"Golbat, evade the attack, then strike back to Astonish Pidgey!"

Golbat flattened itself close to the ground in order to go right underneath of the approaching Twister. It then flew straight at Pidgey, wings glowing with a strange energy Ron had never seen before.

"Pidgey, you have to get out of the way!"

But Pidgey was not able to evade Golbat's blow, as it tumbled backwards in the sky. It needed time to recover!

The Rocket cried out, "Don't give it a chance to recover. Use your Air Cutter attack on it!"

While still in midair, Golbat slashed downwards with its right wing, then its left wing. The force from the wind created two scythe-like "blades" of wind that swiftly made their way towards Pidgey. The small Pokemon was hit hard by the wind, which sent it plummeting down to the earth.

Ron rushed over to his fallen Pokemon. "Pidgey, you have to get up! I know you can win, you have it in you!"

Pidgey let out a weak cry before it began to glow in a strange white light. Ron had read about this before…it was called evolution. When a Pokemon gets too strong, it changes into another form that is more suited to its energy levels.

The newly evolved Pokemon cried out loud into the sky, and then glared at the Golbat that had given it hell. Ron in turn looked at his newly evolved Pokemon. To Ron, this new Pokemon looked like a larger Pidgey, except it had feathers sticking out from top of its head…a distinguishing feature that Pidgey didn't have.

"**Pidgeotto: The evolved form of Pidgey. Unlike Pidgey, Pidgeotto prefers to fight instead of peacefully fly away from battles."**

"Alright Pidgeotto, it's time to fight back! Attack that Golbat with a Wing Attack!"

Pidgeotto's wings glowed as it charged at Golbat, who was shocked at the evolution of its foe in the middle of a battle. The hit scored critical damage, and Golbat fell back straight into its trainer.

"Ahh! Return Golbat!"

The Rocket recalled his Pokemon to its Pokeball, and then stood up. He dusted himself off and glared at Ron. Such ferocity was something entirely new to Ron, but he stood bravely in the face of danger. He wasn't going to run from fights anymore.

"Alright kid, I'm done playing around. How do you think you'll do against three Pokemon at once?!"

The Rocket held three Pokeballs in his hand, holding Pokemon that Ron had a feeling he'd have a tough time against. He planted his feet firmly into the dirt, preparing for a fight.

Suddenly a voice let out a cry, "Butterfree, use your Stun Spore attack!"

A large butterfly flew from somewhere to the right of the bridge. Ron had never seen this Pokemon before, but he knew it was on his side. Ron its wings, it released a strange blue powder. The powder came into contact with the Rocket, who suddenly couldn't move. He grunted a little bit, but besides that did nothing else.

A girl ran over to the Butterfree, yelling, "Nice job Butterfree!"

Ron recognized her as the girl he had met at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City. She still had that same brown hair, that yellow skirt, and the sling-over backpack. It was Emma.

She smiled at Ron. "Hey Ron, remember me?"

Ron nodded, "How could I forget you? We promised to have a battle one day, remember?"

She giggled a little bit at this, but seemed a little disappointed that the only reason he remembered her was for a battle. Either way, she then turned her attention to the Rocket they had paralyzed.

"We should get out of here now before he is able to move again. I've been watching this guy for a few days now, and I've seen he has some really tough Pokemon."

Ron didn't respond, but simply follow her to the east. He knew that this would be the way to Bill the Pokemaniac's house, so he was killing two birds with one stone…figuratively.

When Emma felt as though they were far enough away, she stopped to relax by a tree. She took her backpack off and set it next to the tree. Butterfree flew over to her and rested on top of a tree branch. Pidgeotto did the same, but on a different branch.

Ron initiated the conversation. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

Emma looked up and him. "I've been working on getting gym badges silly! I'm already earned a badge!"

Ron grinned, "I've already earned two badges. One from Pewter City and another from Cerulean City."

She got this strange look of interest in her eyes when Ron mentioned Cerulean City. "You beat Misty?! That's amazing. I couldn't beat her when I challenged her. That Golduck is tough."

Ron nodded in agreement, but then the conversation again drifted back to having a battle between the two young trainers. When Ron brought it up, she shifted her eyes down, almost in shame.

"Ron, I'd love to have a battle with you, but I'm just not up to it right now. Even so, do you think we could still hang out for a little bit? It's been awhile since we've hung out."

Ron happily agreed to hang out with her for awhile. Sometimes it was nice to just hang out with friends instead of wanting to fight with them to see who is better. For a second, he felt as though he was just like Seth, trying to start a fight with anyone me met.

And so the two trainers hung around the tree for a little bit, discussing things not even related to Pokemon. They enjoyed a lunch that Emma had packed. There Pokemon also enjoyed the food, especially the Pokemon food that Ron had picked up the previous day at the Pokemart. Ron had never talked to a girl like this in his life…this was something entirely new.

After awhile, Emma stood up. She recalled her Pokemon to their Pokeballs. Ron stood up and in a similar fashion recalled his Pokemon.

"We should get going now. That Rocket could be hot on our trail, and I don't think I could fight him too well."

Ron was puzzled. "Why do you think that?"

She replied, "Well, its just I haven't felt all that confident about my training skills lately. Sure, I was able to win one gym battle, but for some reason I can't manage a win against Misty."

Ron shrugged, "Maybe you just have to sit down before the battle and think things out. Sometimes I lie awake and night and think of strategies for fights."

She nodded, "Thanks for the advice."

And to that Ron replied, "Not a problem. And hey, are you by any chance going to visit Bill the Pokemaniac?"

It just so happened that she was heading the same way. They decided to stick together for the time being. Perhaps not only Pidgeotto had evolved today, but so had Ron's friendship with Emma.

What will happen when they reach Bill's house? Find out next time!


	13. The Double Battle! Where’s Bill?

Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**The Double Battle! Where's Bill?**

It was beginning to get dark on one of the brightest days of Ron's young life. For the first time ever, he was beginning to care for someone who wasn't related to him in any way. Sure, he had minor crushes back in school, but he felt as though this was different.

Fear of rejection would most likely keep Ron from acting on these feelings for some time. For now, he needed to focus on making the journey to Bill's house, which he knew was up near the beach. With Emma at his side, Ron continued down the road to his next adventure.

Ron turned to Emma as they made their way. "You know Emma; this is the first time I've traveled with someone else before, how about you?"

She nodded to Ron, "I've been on my own for awhile now. You get used to it, but it's always nice to travel with another person every once and awhile."

It wasn't long before they saw someone else down the road. In fact, it was two people they saw approaching them. These two people were obviously twins. They had the same brown eyes, brown hair, and were of similar average height. The only difference was that one of them was wearing a green shirt while the other was wearing a blue shirt.

The boy in the blue shirt spoke first. "Hey there, my name is Tim. The boy in the green shirt is my brother Jim. We're Pokemon Trainers."

Jim then spoke, "If you two are Pokemon Trainers, we were wondering if you'd like to have a double battle with you!"

Ron smiled and grabbed a Pokemon from his belt. "He turned to Emma, who just looked down at the ground. Ron put his hand on her shoulder, hoping to encourage her.

"Hey, don't worry. I know you can do it. We'll be battling together, so nothing can go wrong!"

She looked up and smiled, then grabbed a Pokeball from her belt. The twins grabbed Pokeballs from their belts and threw them out first. Tim's Pokemon was a small Pokemon with no arms. Ron recognized this Pokemon as the tadpole Pokemon Poliwag. Its stomach had the recognizable swirl on it and its tail protruded from its rear, which it used to keep its balance.

Jim sent out a different Pokemon, a purple snake with a yellow belly. Ron pulled out his Pokedex to scan the Pokemon.

"**Ekans: the snake Pokemon. This Pokemon is a predator that seeks its prey in the tall grasses in the wild."**

Ron had a bit of a phobia for snakes, but he didn't let this bother him today. His Pokemon for this battle was his Bulbasaur, who had a rough time in its last few battles. Ron still had confidence in the grass Pokemon however, and chooses to use it in this battle.

Emma sent out her Butterfree for this match, the same one that had saved Ron from the Rocket who threatened Ron with three Pokemon back at the Nugget Bridge.

Not wanting to waste any time, Ron commanded his Bulbasaur to aim at Poliwag with its Vine Whip attack.

Tim cried out to his Pokemon, "Poliwag, you have to get out of the way!"

Poliwag leapt up into the air, just barely evading the blow. Bulbasaur's vines hit the ground with a strong crack. Jim then ordered his Ekans to bite into Bulbasaur while it was off guard.

Emma commanded to her Butterfree, "Blow Ekans away from Bulbasaur with your Gust attack!"

A strong wind kicked up thanks to some help from Butterfree's wings. The tornado caught Ekans, who was swept away from Bulbasaur, who it was closing in on. Tim then ordered his Poliwag to use Bubble attack on Butterfree.

Ron cried out to Bulbasaur, "Now it's our turn to help out. Use your Vine Whip on Poliwag again. After that, tackle into it!"

Poliwag released bubbles from somewhere on its stomach, which headed straight towards Butterfree. The bubbles popped on contact, which soaked the wings of Butterfree. This would affect its flying ability. However, Poliwag was caught off guard by Bulbasaur, whose Vine Whip attack was a success.

Bulbasaur ran at Poliwag to follow up its first successful attack with another, but Ekans would not allow that to happen. It bit into Bulbasaur's bulb and would not let go. At first Ron was worried, and then it hit him.

"Alright Bulbasaur, give Ekans a taste of Sleep Powder!"

The blue powder went right into Ekans mouth, causing the Pokemon to inhale the full force of the Sleep Powder. This knocked the Pokemon right out and into dreamland. Bulbasaur proceeded to shake the sleeping snake off of its bulb and right into a nearby rock. Jim, who was obviously frustrated, returned his Pokemon to its Pokeball.

Emma, whose confidence had clearly been lifted, cried out to her Butterfree to end the battle. "Trap Poliwag in your Confusion attack, then lift it into the air where its in your turf!"

Poliwag was surrounded in a blue light. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, was just sitting and watching as the small water Pokemon was lifted into the air, where it helplessly hung.

Emma looked up at her Butterfree, and then pointed downward. At that moment, Poliwag was sent slamming into the ground where it lay defeated. Tim recalled his Pokemon to its Pokeball.

He then turned to Ron and Emma. "You two are really talented trainers. Maybe you should complete in one of the double battle tournaments they have in Celadon City every year."

Ron didn't know what he was talking about, but he politely nodded. It didn't seem like a bad idea. After exchanging handshakes, the twins went in the opposite direction of where Ron and Emma were heading, obviously looking for more challenges up ahead.

Emma turned to Ron, and then embraced him. Ron didn't expect this, but it was a welcome surprise. He blushed a bit, but Emma didn't seem to notice.

She exclaimed, "Ron, thanks to you I have my confidence back as a Pokemon Trainer! We should get moving though, because it's getting dark."

Ron nodded and they continued along the path, but not before returning their own Pokemon to their Pokeballs after a hard-fought battle.

The next half hour or so was quite uneventful as the two trainers made their way down the trail to Bill's house. It was only a matter of time before they could smell the sea, meaning that they were getting closer and closer to their destination.

And then they saw it, a small cottage on a hill by the sea. Ron took note that this would be a nice sort of setup to have somewhere when he retired and needed a place to settle down for the rest of his life. This then led to a thought of spending the rest of his life with Emma, which he shook out of his head quite quickly.

While Ron was thinking, Emma had made her way up to the pavement that led to the wooden door of the cottage. She yelled over to Ron, "Hey! Hurry up. We haven't got all day!"

Ron, who was a little embarrassed at this point, ran up to the door and proceeded to knock. He hoped this would make up for his little bit of daydreaming earlier. However, knocking did nothing…as no one answered.

The door swung open, which scared both Ron and Emma enough for the two of them to jump backwards a few inches. Ron peered into the house and what he found shocked him more than the door opening on his own.

It looked like there had been a tornado in the room that Ron looked into. Things that would normally be neatly arranged in a house such as tables and chairs were knocked over. Books were laying array on the plush carpet. Something strange had just happened here, and it seemed as though it was up to Ron and Emma to figure it out.

Emma walked over to a desk that had been tipped over, noticing a note near it on the floor. She picked it up and read it, then walked over to Ron.

"You might want to read this Ron. I think it explains what went down here."

The note looked as though it had been written in a hurry. The handwriting wasn't the neatest in the world, but Ron was able to make out what it said.

"_Whoever is reading this…help! Team Rocket is here, they must want something of mine. I'm afraid it is too late for me. They must want to take me to their headquarters. It is located in…"_

Ron looked up at Emma with fear in his eyes. "Do you know what this means?"

She rolled her eyes at Ron. "Well duh I know what it means. Bill was obviously taken by Team Rocket for some reason. What it is we don't know, but we do know that we have to help him somehow, right? We have to get to the headquarters mentioned here."

Ron nodded, "Well, this could take awhile. Think we should look for more clues?"

Emma shook her head, "No, we've found enough. I'll go contact the authorities back in Cerulean City. Since you're heading out of town anyway, you don't have to be bothered with contacting the police."

They walked out of the house, sticking close together as if they expected a Rocket or two to still be there. When they reached the end of the pavement and walked back onto the dirt path, they embraced again. This time, it was Ron who initiated the contact.

When they let go of each other, Ron stared into her eyes. "Promise me you'll be safe okay? I mean, that one Rocket from before could still be back at Nugget Bridge when you go back that way."

She nodded, also staring into the eyes of who she was talking to. "And promise me you'll be safe on your way to the next city okay? It could still be dangerous."

Ron nodded as they said their goodbyes. He yelled, "Good luck at the Cerulean City Gym." They both went their respective ways, both feeling a bit more accomplished than they did before.

"Well, it looks as if I'm on my own again. Nothing out of the ordinary with that, but it was nice to have someone else with me for awhile."

And then it hit Ron…Seth was the last one that he knew visited Bill.

"Perhaps Seth knows something about what happened to Bill. I'm sure he would have mentioned he had seen something if he in fact did."

Ron then pondered if Seth might have had something to do with the mysterious abduction, but he shook that thought clear out of his head. He didn't want to think that someone he had become good friends with was actually a member of Team Rocket.

Instead he shifted his thoughts to something new altogether. "I wonder how I'm going to get to Vermillion City. After all, it is where the next gym is. I'm going to have to go there eventually, and what better time than now?"

And so he grabbed his map from inside of his backpack and unfolded it. He saw that the only way to get to Vermillion City was to take the road south until he reached the gateway to Saffron City. From there he would have to take the underground tunnel to the other side of Saffron City. Then Vermillion City was a short walk away.

Ron then noticed that it was getting dark quickly, so he made his way down the trail a bit just to get away from Bill's house, and then set up camp for the night. It didn't take him all that long to get his tent set up and his dinner made. He decided on some nice "just add water" soup that he had bought from the store a few days ago. It was a nice Leek Soup that he drank right up.

When he was done eating, he packed up his things into his backpack, which he carried into the tent with him. Once snug inside his sleeping bag, he drifted off into sleep. Tomorrow he would wake up to a new day…and a new adventure!


	14. Goodbye Geodude!

Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 **

**The Day-Care, the Underground!**

Ron had been walking all morning. It wasn't like him to avoid civilization, but he decided upon going around Cerulean City instead of going right through it to reach the Underground Tunnel. Besides, he knew his Pokemon could handle the journey.

"So the tunnel is really only a few miles away from Cerulean City? This is awesome. I should be on the other side of Saffron City in no time."

Although he had lived in Saffron City his entire life, Ron had never been underneath the city before. This would be his first time talking the Underground Tunnel. He was excited and nervous at the same time, because he heard that sometimes in the depths of the tunnel there are people waiting to ambush travelers.

"I shouldn't be worrying myself over people that might be in the tunnel. There's nothing me and my Pokemon can't handle!"

Having been reassured, Ron pressed onwards. Eventually he did spot a building in the distance. However, upon further investigation he found that this was not the entrance to the Underground Tunnel.

There was a small cottage with a green roof right before Ron's eyes. There was a wooden sign in the front that read:

"**The Day-Care Man"**

Now Ron had no idea who this Day-care man was, but apparently he lived here. Enclosed in a fence, Ron saw a few Pokemon roaming around. Among them included a Mankey, Weedle, and Pidgey. The Mankey looked a tad bit familiar, almost like the one that Seth had used in a battle against him.

How could Ron forget that Mankey? It didn't even obey its trainer, running into battle without any commands. And then he remembered Geodude, who used its Self-Destruct attack to force a tie instead of taking advantage of the unruly Pokemon it had been facing.

Ron wanted to find out whether or not this Mankey did in fact belong to his rival, so he approached the door and knocked. A short, bald man answered the door. He seemed very old and was wearing tattered pants and a sweater-vest. Ron really had to get himself one of them some day.

He looked up at Ron, smiling. "Well hello there young man. Please come in."

Ron stepped inside to a small lobby with a couch off to the side. There was a desk over in the far corner of the room with several papers spread out across it. Behind the desk was a chair, which Ron assumed this old man sat out all the time while doing work.

The old man walked over to said desk, then sat down on the chair Ron had just taken notice. He then began to speak to Ron, who made his way to the desk as the man began to speak.

"It's a pleasure to meet you young man. People call me the Day-Care man. This is because I take care of other trainer's Pokemon. Now, how can I help you today?"

Ron replied, "That Mankey out there…by any chance was it dropped off by a young man about my age?"

The man looked up at Ron after flipping through some papers on his desk. "Was the young man named Seth? And was he from Pallet Town?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah that's him! I assume that means that the Mankey outside is his after all."

The man nodded, 'You're very impressive to have been able to distinguish Seth's Mankey from any other Mankey."

The Day-Care man paused for a moment, as if thinking about what to say next, or how to word something.

"Seth claimed that his Mankey had a difficult time obeying him in battle. I offered to take care of his Mankey for a short time to try to find out what the problem happens to be. When I am in Celadon City in a few months, I plan on meeting up with Seth again and returning his Pokemon."

Ron thought that might be a good idea for his Geodude. He grabbed the Pokemon from Geodude out from his belt, and then began to speak again.

"Sir, if you don't think it's any trouble, do you think you could look after my Geodude for a little while. You see, it's having trouble obeying my orders in battle also, as if it cannot harness its incredible power."

The old man nodded, as if expecting this to happen. He kindly took the Pokeball from Ron's hand, and then looked up at the young trainer.

"I would be happy to watch after your Geodude for some time. How does meeting up in Celadon City sound to you?"

Ron grinned at the old man, "That would be fantastic. That way Geodude will still be able to assist me in the Celadon City tag-battle competition."

Although Ron sounded glad that his Pokemon would get some training. However, he was a tad upset that he would be away from one of his Pokemon for some time. It was a tough decision, but he had a feeling this man really knew how to train Pokemon well.

Before leaving, Ron asked if he could talk to Geodude for a moment. The Pokemon leapt out of its Pokeball and over to its trainer.

Ron knelled down to talk to his rocky Pokemon. "Geodude, I want you to stay here for a little bit for some training. This man knows how to help Pokemon control their fighting abilities. We'll meet again in Celadon City…I promise."

Geodude looked into its trainers eyes, knowing that there was sincerity in them. It gave Ron a hug before waving goodbye as it watched Ron walk further and further down the road. To Geodude, this was just another trial that it would have to overcome in order to become a great Pokemon for its trainer.

As Ron continued to travel down the path, he heard a timid voice in the distance.

"No…please don't take my Nidoran. I've been training it since I was a little girl. Don't take her away!"

Ron rushed over towards the voice and was confronted with a frightening scene. A tall man in a trench coat was standing over a young girl in a bright blue dress. A small Pokemon colored the same as the girl's dress was terrified and unable to move…unable to assist its trainer.

Ron yelled out, "Hey! You leave that girl alone. Just because you're bigger and stronger doesn't mean you have to pick on her!"

The man looked over at Ron. He had an evil look on his face, a look that scared Ron a bit. "Listen kid, I don't take orders from other people. I don't care what you say, because you're still smaller than me yourself!"

Ron pulled a Pokeball from his belt, the Pokeball of his first Pokemon…the one he had trained since he was a kid. It was Elekid who came out of the Pokeball in a flash of red light. Sparks danced around the body of this electric Pokemon as it awaited the orders of its trainer.

Although Ron was against hurting people with Pokemon, he had no choice. "Elekid, use your Thundershock attack on that man."

The electric Pokemon windmilled its arms as fast as it could to build up energy, and then released the energy in the form of electricity. The current was hurled directly as the man, who jumped backwards as he enlarged a Pokeball in his hand. The Pokemon he sent out was none other than Machoke, a large fighting type Pokemon.

The girl came to Ron's aid, ordering her Nidoran to use a Poison Sting on the tough-looking Pokemon. Long, slender needles nailed the Machoke head-on, causing massive pain to the Pokemon.

"Alright Elekid, follow up with a Thunderpunch attack!"

Elekid charged energy into its right arm, which it used to score a direct hit on the Machoke, who was recovering from the damage dealt to it by Nidoran. It fell to the ground, and then was returned back to its Pokeball by the mysterious man.

"Hmmph. You kids should be ashamed of yourselves…double-teaming me like that!"

He ran off without saying anymore than that, which left both Ron and the young girl in a state of both shock and confusion. Wasn't he the one that attacked a little girl for no reason?

Ron helped the girl up to her feet. He then introduced himself. "My name is Ron. I'm a Pokemon trainer from Saffron City." He then pointed to his Elekid. "This is Elekid, my first Pokemon and my best friend."

Elekid smiled and the young girl smiled right back. "My name is Amy. I live in Cerulean City, but I was out training with my Nidoran. Then that man attacked me, threatening to take my Pokemon."

Ron shrugged. "Well, maybe he was a member of Team Rocket or something? That or he was just a random thief like the one's I heard hang around the Underground Tunnel."

The little girl nodded, and then pointed further down the path. "If you continue that way, you'll find the entrance to the Underground Tunnel. It's really not that far of a walk from here. You should be able to get to the entrance in about ten minutes or so."

Ron thanked the girl, and then continued on his way with Elekid at his side. Regardless of these strange events, Ron's mind was still on the friend that he had left back with the Day-Care man.

What if something went wrong and Geodude never got back to him? What if Geodude is a completely different Pokemon from the one that Ron knew it as? This sort of questions bothered Ron as he made his way to a small blue-roofed building.

This time, he was sure that this building was that of the Underground Tunnel. He knew this because there was a sign. So…what will happen as he travels the tunnel? Find out next time.


	15. The Underground Tunnel! Blaze of Glory!

Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**The Underground Tunnel! Blaze of Glory!**

Breathing heavily, Ron raced down the tunnel. He was on the run, trying to elude the attacks of crazed mobsters and thieves that for the most part "ran" the Underground Tunnel. Not even a minute after he made his way down the long and winding stairs to the tunnel did a few delinquents spot him. They harassed him, trying to take his money. Elekid paralyzed them temporarily and made a break for it with Ron.

Ron looked down at his companion, asking him, "Why in the world do we attract the weird crowd? I can't take much more of this!"

Ron's Pokemon nodded at him as they rushed down the path. Looking over his shoulder, Ron could still see three men chasing him in the distance. Perhaps he could fight them off?

"Enough of this, I'm not going to go down without a fight!"

Ron grabbed two Pokeballs from his belt, the ones containing his Bulbasaur and Pidgeotto. The two Pokemon burst out from their Pokeballs, ready to give it their all for Ron.

Each of the delinquents grabbed a Pokeball from their belt, and then released their Pokemon into the tunnel. The fist one released a Beedrill. The second one released a Mankey. The third one released a Zubat.

Ron thought to himself, _"Heh…this should be no problem at all. None of their Pokemon seems all that tough. Elekid can handle Beedrill, Pidgeotto has the advantage over Mankey, and I believe Bulbasaur can take out Zubat."_

All at the same time, the tunnel delinquents let out a cry. "Go get his Pokemon! Take them out so we can get our pay!"

Ron gave out orders to his Pokemon one by one. "Elekid, shock Beedrill with your Thundershock attack! Pidgeotto, use your Wing Attack on Mankey! Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on Zubat!"

Ron's Pokemon followed through with the commands flawlessly. Elekid really let Beedrill have it; in the aftermath of the attack, sparks flew from Beedrill's wings. Pidgeotto sent Mankey back into its trainer with the force of its wings slamming into its body. The pure power of Bulbasaur's vines sent Zubat plummeting into the earth.

With the Pokemon defeated, they returned to their Pokeballs. Ron confidently said, "Is that all you got? Honestly, I've fought inanimate objects tougher than you."

The delinquents didn't want to hear any of this, so without any Pokemon they charged at Ron. They were going to take him out with physical force. Ron knew what to do now. He ordered Bulbasaur to send them into dreamland with a taste of its Sleep Powder.

Ron looked down at the sleeping trouble-makers with a tad bit of sympathy. He didn't like to see people that have nothing better to do but make life hell for people just trying to pass through an area. Perhaps they had some problems elsewhere, so they were taking their frustration out on others.

He continued onwards, hoping that he wouldn't run into any more trouble on his way to Vermillion City. He returned his Pokemon to their Pokeballs so they wouldn't have to waste any energy walking like he had to.

On the side of the tunnel, from the shadows, Ron heard a cry. It wasn't a human, but was a Pokemon. It looked like a little dog with bright orange fur and black stripes running across its back. Its tail, chest and mane of some sort were fluffy and white. It was a Growlithe.

"**Growlithe: the Puppy Pokemon. Growlithe is a very loyal Pokemon that will protect its trainer at all costs."**

Ron looked down at the Pokemon, who looked scared and lost. "A loyal Pokemon eh? Do you have a trainer or anything?"

The puppy shook its head, then got up and began wagging its tail at Ron. He pet the little Pokemon on its head. _"Growlithe is a really friendly Pokemon. Since it doesn't have a trainer, I have no idea how it might have gotten down this tunnel. This little guy is lucky that those delinquents never discovered that it was living down here."_

Ron then got an idea. He could capture Growlithe and train it as his very own Pokemon. He pulled out a Pokeball, which Growlithe quickly took notice of. Ron sent out his Elekid and made an offer to the Growlithe.

"Growlithe…you're a great Pokemon. I would be honored for the chance to train you as my very own. I would like to have a battle against you to try to capture you the old-fashioned way. Is that okay?"

Without hesitation, Growlithe ran about twenty feet down the tunnel, and then looked back at Ron and Elekid, bracing itself for a battle.

Ron was glad to see this, but now knew he had a job to do. "Alright Elekid, let's start things off by creating a Light Screen for protection. We have no idea what Growlithe might do."

A purple shield was created in front of Elekid, shielding it from any special attack such as the fire attacks that Growlithe was most likely capable of using.

The Growlithe reared back its head, and then fired a burst of flames in Elekid's direction. The Light Screen withstood the blow, but Ron knew it was only a matter of time before the shield would break and his Pokemon would be vulnerable to attacks.

"We have to work quickly Elekid. Use your Thunderpunch attack on Growlithe. Full force now!"

His Pokemon built up the force of electricity in its arm, and then charged at Growlithe. The small puppy let loose fire, but as soon as it released the flames from its mouth it began to roll swiftly at the charging Elekid. This was Growlithe's Flame Wheel attack, which was nothing to take lightly.

When the attacks came in contact with each other, they formed a bright glow of light. This light turned into an explosion that moved Ron like never before. In all his time training Pokemon, he had never seen an explosion anywhere close to the extreme power of this one. Thick gray smoke covered the vicinity around the explosion, which meant Ron would have to wait to see the outcome.

As the smoke finally began to clear, Ron saw both Pokemon struggling to keep their body standing upright. The attacks obviously did the damage they were supposed to, as burn marks from the explosion covered both Pokemon. At his point, Ron worried less about winning and more about the safety of his Pokemon and the wild Growlithe.

He rushed over to the Pokemon and upon further observation decided that it would be in both of their best interest to receive medical attention as soon as possible.

Ron first recalled his Elekid to its Pokeball. "You did a good job Elekid, I'm proud of you."

Then he picked up Growlithe, who simply let the trainer carry it. Obviously the puppy knew that it was in no condition to move around or do anything to protect itself any other way. It was best to just let Ron help it out this time.

Ron smiled at the Growlithe, who was looking up at him. "You're a tough Pokemon Growlithe, but you need help right now."

Growlithe, without a doubt, understood Ron's words. This was the beginning of a bond of trust that would be made between these two beings.

Ron made his way to the stairs on the other side of the tunnel without any interruption, and then made his way up the stairs. There was no one to be seen, which was exactly the way Ron wanted it. He knew that it would be about a 10 minute walk from outside of the tunnel to Vermillion City, where he would be able to get help for his Pokemon and the Growlithe.

Upon opening the door, Ron was greeted by a peaceful wilderness setting. He could hear nature, but he knew that if he didn't disturb it, it wouldn't disturb him. He walked down the path in the direction of the next city, taking notice of all the wonderful things nature had to offer.

"This is amazing isn't it Growlithe? I don't know how long it has been since you've been outside the tunnel, but now you're free from the darkness."

Growlithe weakly wagged its tail, excited to finally be freed from the darkness and insecurity that the tunnel had represented and been for it for so long. Ron didn't know it, but the Growlithe was beginning to take a liking to Ron. Whatever had happened in this Pokemon's past, it didn't matter anymore. This next chapter in its life would be great.

Ron ran through the city gates and into Vermillion City. It really was a beautiful port city; one that Ron had heard about many times, especially when his father had taken that cruise on the S.S. Anne, the famous cruise ship that made its home here in Vermillion City. As far as Ron knew, it wasn't going to set sail again for a few more months.

"Now where could that Pokemon Center be?" Ron wandered around town for a few minutes looking for the Pokemon Center. He knew it was important to find one, but he just couldn't find one in all the confusion.

And then he spotted the signature red roofed Pokemon Center not too far in the distance. He ran into the center and up to the front desk. He was lucky that there was no line, and he was able to get right up to the front desk to talk to Nurse Joy without any time wasted.

Before she could greet him or ask what was wrong, Ron began to explain what had happened. "I was in a battle with this Growlithe. Both it and my Elekid got hurt in the fight. They need help right away…there was an explosion when the attacks combined…like nothing I had ever seen before. Please…help."

Ron couldn't hold up Growlithe anymore because he used up all his energy running to the center. Nurse Joy smiled and took the Pokemon from Ron's hands. "I'm sure we'll be able to get your Pokemon and this Growlithe back into perfect shape in now time."

She then took the Pokeballs of Elekid, Pidgeotto, and Bulbasaur. Along with her assistant Chansey, she went into the back room in order to work on helping the Pokemon the best she could.

He paced the lobby of the Pokemon Center for what seemed like hours. This was the first time that he was really afraid one of his Pokemon would be seriously hurt. He hoped that Elekid would be ready for battles soon, because he planned on using his electric Pokemon at the Vermillion City Gym.

Eventually his named was called and he made his way over to the main desk. Nurse Joy had a tray with his three Pokeballs on it and Growlithe standing on all fours next to her. The puppy leapt up onto the desk and towards Ron, who caught the energetic Pokemon in his arms.

Nurse Joy said, "I'm glad to say that your Elekid and this Growlithe both made full recoveries from the battle. Apparently the injuries were not as bad as you thought they might be."

Ron replied, "Thank you very much. I'm really glad they were able to recover. I was worried."

He then looked down at Growlithe. "So Growlithe, how about joining my team?"

The puppy barked excitedly, and then leapt for the Pokeball that Ron threw into the air. The Pokemon was sucked into the Pokeball, which closed and signaled that Growlithe had been captured successfully.

Now he would head for the Vermillion City Gym, where he would aim to earn his third Kanto League Badge.


	16. A Shocking Showdown!

Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**A Shocking Showdown!**

Ron wandered aimlessly around the city, searching for the gym. He figured it would stick out from everything else, but so far he hadn't had any luck finding the gym. He had stayed the night at the Pokemon Center, so he and his Pokemon were well rested for their gym battle.

Eventually he came across a sign that pointed in the direction of "The Vermillion City Gym." Ron made his way up to a building with huge doors. He knew this had to be the gym. He tried pushing open the large doors, but he just couldn't get them to budge an inch.

As he pushed, he questioned the immovable doors. "Why in the world won't these doors move? How is this gym supposed to get any challengers?"

Suddenly he noticed a strange lock on the doors. Oh the lock was a strange lightning bolt shaped marking. This gave Ron an idea.

"Elekid, come on out!"

His electric Pokemon burst from the Pokeball in a flash of light, then stood beside its trainer. Ron looked down at his Pokemon.

"Elekid, use your Thunderpunch on that lock with the lightning bolt shaped mark!"

He pointed up at the lock. Elekid nodded and charged up its attack. It nailed the lock with a direct hit, causing it to erupt in a fiery explosion. Ron and Elekid shielded their eyes from the explosion, and as the smoke cleared they saw the doors swing open to reveal the gym.

A grin came across Ron's face as he walked inside the gym. He took a look around, only to find that there was no one there.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Suddenly a man walked out from the shadows. He was a very tall, muscular man. He was wearing green army camo and a large leather vest. Turing to the broken door, he acknowledged Ron.

"So you figured out how to open the door, did ya? That's very impressive, considering that ever since I put that thing up I haven't gotten any challengers."

Ron thought to himself, _"So I beat both Seth and Emma in getting to this gym? That's great…now I can finally get a lead on them."_

The man then turned to Ron. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lt. Surge of the Vermillion City Gym. In fact, I'm the gym leader here."

Ron nodded, and then introduced himself. "My name is Ron. I'm from Saffron City, and I've come to challenge you to a gym battle with my Elekid here."

Lt. Surge looked down at Ron's Elekid, smiling. "So this is one of your Pokemon then? It seems as though you've raised this electric Pokemon well."

He then looked up at Ron, "Tell ya what; I really want to have an electric showdown today. What do you say to a one on one battle? It can be your Elekid versus my Raichu. If you win, you can have the Thunder Badge as proof of your victory."

Ron agreed. "Of course I'll have a battle against you. It should be interesting shouldn't it Elekid?"

His Pokemon and friend nodded in agreement, and then braced itself for battle. The two trainers took their respective sides on the battlefield, which Ron didn't even see until Lt. Surge turned on the back lights of the gym. A Gymbot 3000 floated to its place on the battlefield, waving its two flags in the air.

"This will be a one on one battle with no time limits. The battle is over when one side is out of usable Pokemon. Let the match begin!"

Elekid took its place on the field and awaited its opponent. Lt. Surge pulled out a Pokeball and threw it onto the battlefield. Out came an electric rodent, one that was the evolved form of a very popular Pokemon known as Pikachu

Raichu stood at about two and a half feet. It had bright yellow fur with white fur on its stomach. Other distinguishing features were its brown paws and long tail which ended in a lightning bolt shape. This would be no easy match for Ron and Elekid.

Lt. Surge allowed Ron and Elekid to get in the first attack. Ron let out a cry, ordering his Elekid to start things off with Thunderpunch attack.

Lt. Surge let out his order to Raichu. "Raichu, balance on your tail to give Elekid less of a target. After that, strike back with a Focus Punch attack!"

Raichu did as it was told, standing on its tail. This in turn caused Elekid to miss its target. This gave Raichu an opening to attack the off-balance Pokemon with an attack of its own.

Raichu's right paw glowed a bright white as it flung itself down towards the earth and straight at Elekid. Ron's Pokemon braced itself for impact, but the attack did its damage. Elekid flew back a few yards, closer to where Ron was.

Ron urged his Pokemon to get back up and continue fighting which it did. "Let's try to use your Thundershock attack now. You can do it!"

Spinning its arms like windmills, Elekid prepared to send out a burst of electric energy at Raichu. Lt. Surge ordered his Raichu to also use a distance attack, but instead of a Thundershock he ordered his Pokemon to let loose a Thunderbolt attack.

This meant trouble for Ron, as he knew that Thunderbolt was in fact a more powerful version of his Elekid's Thundershock attack. Raichu placed its paws on its bright yellow cheeks, which somehow charged up the electric energy in its body. It let loose the attack at full force, which stuck Elekid's Thundershock in midair.

Lucky for Ron, when the attacks collided, they simply disappeared into nothing. However, he knew that his Elekid was no match for this Raichu.

"Alright Raichu, use your Quick Attack on Elekid. Give it all you've got!"

Raichu rushed towards Elekid, leaving a trail of white light behind it. The powerful electric rodent struck Elekid hard, sending it flying backwards yet again. Raichu stood over its foe, feeling triumphant.

And then Ron noticed that sparks were flying from Raichu's body. It had been affected by Elekid's special ability Spark, which paralyzed it completely. This was Elekid's chance…but it had been defeated by the powerful blow done by Raichu.

The Gymbot 3000 waved its flag in the direction of Raichu. "Elekid is unable to battle. This means that Raichu is the winner. The battle goes to the gym leader Lt. Surge."

Ron couldn't believe it. He and Elekid had lost their first battle together. Ron pulled himself together, returned his fallen Pokemon to its Pokeball. He smiled as he looked at the Pokeball, telling Elekid that it had done a good job despite losing the battle.

Lt. Surge approached Ron. He could tell that Ron had not expected to lose, but he had not come to insult Ron or make him feel worse about his loss. In fact, he wanted to help Ron.

"Listen Ron, I've taken a liking to you and your Elekid. I want the two of you to get stronger so you can defeat my Raichu and me. That is why I will trust you with one of my greatest training secrets."

Ron listened intently to what the gym leader had to say.

Lt. Surge continued to speak, "Northeast of Vermillion city there is an old abandoned building they call the Power Plant. It is home to some of the most powerful electric type Pokemon in the Kanto region. I would like you to go there and train with your Elekid, in order to make both of you stronger than you are now."

Ron nodded, "I understand Lt. Surge. I'll go there and train with Elekid. We'll become even stronger than we are now. When I return here, I promise I'll be more powerful than I am now."

Lt. Surge smiled at Ron, "I look forward to battling you again. In fact, next time I want to see more of your Pokemon, so we'll make it a three on three battle. What do you say?"

Ron smiled back, "That sounds great. I'll see you around then."

Ron walked out the door, waving goodbye to Lt. Surge and his Raichu. Although he had lost a battle for the first time, he got some training advice from one of the best Pokemon trainers in all of Kanto.

He made his way to the city limits, northeast of town. He stared ahead at the wilderness, knowing that somewhere in the distance was the place where he and his Elekid would get the training of a lifetime.


	17. Enter Zapdos!

Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Enter Zapdos!**

Following a stay at the local Pokemon Center, Ron made his way to the place that Lt. Surge had described to him. It was an old power plant, except for that people had left it years ago in order to build another plant closer to Vermillion City.

Ron questioned the decision of the people of Vermillion City. "This is a way better place for a power plant. They can branch out to other cities with this location, but with the newer one they can only reach Vermillion City and a little bit of the area surrounding the city."

Despite this, it was something that was really out of his control. The power plant was now taken over by the many electrical Pokemon in the area. Ron even heard that the legendary flying Pokemon Zapdos made its home here in the old power plant.

He thought of how cool it would be to actually see this legend up close and personal, but he knew that it would most likely flee from a human, as it had probably not trusted them for some time now. Many trainers must have come and attempted to capture it before.

As he approached the large door to the power plant, he noticed a lock much like the one on the Vermillion City gym. He wondered what their purpose was, but that thought didn't last long. He sent out his Elekid to destroy the door.

"Alright Elekid, use your Thunderpunch attack on the door's lock. Break it open good!"

The electric Pokemon charged up energy in its arm, and then leapt up into the air to nail the lock with a direct hit. The blow crushed the lock, causing it to explode. Elekid landed on its feet and stood to watch its work in action.

The door swung open and Ron walked inside. The place had clearly been abandoned by humanity years ago. The machines that normally would be light up with flashing buttons had a few of their buttons flickering. The main lights in the place were flickering as well, just enough to keep the area light enough for Ron to see his way around.

"This is depressing isn't it Elekid? But at least all the electric Pokemon in Kanto have someone to come for safety."

His friend nodded. It was easy for Elekid to sympathize with the electric Pokemon here, as it was an electric Pokemon also. Ron made note of a few Voltorb rolling by, although the ball Pokemon paid no notice to the human that had made his way into their home.

Ron hoped that the Pokemon here wouldn't really bother him, although he had come here to fight some of them to train. He made his way down a hallway until his progress was halted by a strange Pokemon.

Its body was a floating ball with one eye. A single screw was coming out of the top of its head, and two other screws were on the lower half of its body. On each side it had a large magnet. This Pokemon was none other than Magnemite.

Ron would normally check his Pokedex for information on this Pokemon, but because it had sparks flying from it to prepare for an attack, Ron decided he wouldn't waste the few precious seconds he had to avoid whatever was about to come his way.

The Magnemite sent sparks flying at Ron in the form of a Thundershock attack, much like the electric power of Ron's Pokemon Elekid. Although he was thrown off balance, Ron wasn't about to give in. He pointed at Magnemite, and then cried out to his Pokemon.

"Elekid, give it a taste of your own Thundershock attack!"

Elekid did as it was told, sending a powerful stream of electric energy straight at Magnemite. The floating magnet made a buzzing noise as it was struck by the attack. Ron didn't know it at the time, but this meant that Magnemite was summoning more of its kind to aid it in battle.

The Magnemite fell backwards and Ron leapt into the air, feeling victorious. He congratulated his Elekid, but the celebration was delayed due to the arrival of two other magnet-based Pokemon.

"Hey three on one isn't fair!"

Ron shouted to the Magnemite, knowing that they didn't care if it was fair or not. They only saw a Pokemon trainer who had invaded their territory and were about to teach them a lesson.

It was then that the three Magnemite got close to each other, and then all began to glow. Ron watched in amazement as they began to evolve into another Pokemon that happened to be a combination of all three of the Pokemon.

The new Pokemon let out a loud buzzing noise, saying the word "Magneton" in three voices at once. This evolved Pokemon would be a true test for Ron, who pulled out his Pokedex to scan the Pokemon, only to find out that the magnetic waves being let out by the Pokemon prevented the tech from working.

This would be a great test for his Elekid, perhaps a way for it to finally figure out how to beat other electric Pokemon, especially those that are more powerful than it.

"Elekid, we're gonna beat this Pokemon and prove that you're way more powerful than Lt. Surge or anyone else thinks."

His Pokemon stared at the Magneton, well aware that this would be one heck of a fight. Sparks flew from its body, showing that it was full of energy and prepared to give it its all.

Magneton brought the energy from each of its magnets together to charge up an incredible electric attack, then let the stream of energy loose on Elekid. Ron had never seen power like that in his life. The burst of energy missed his Pokemon, but not by much.

Suddenly a Machoke came from out of no where, slamming into the Magneton with all its might. The magnet Pokemon flew backwards and into some of the machinery on the walls. A Pokeball was hurled at the Pokemon from around the corner, capturing the powerful Pokemon without a problem.

A man appeared from around the corner, walking over towards the Pokeball. He picked it up, and then looked over at his Machoke.

"Good job. This Magneton knows Zap Cannon and will be an excellent addition to my team."

It was the tall man in the trench coat he had seen that day he dropped off his Geodude at the Day-Care Man. He hoped he had seen the last of that man, but again he ran into him. The man turned towards Ron with a strange look of disgust on his face. He pointed at Ron.

"You! You're that boy who caused me so much trouble before. If you hadn't gotten in the way back there I might be training a powerful Nidoqueen right now!"

Ron yelled back at the man, "Well, maybe you shouldn't be trying to steal Pokemon from innocent little girls then. Look…I don't know what you're doing here, but you best not try to cause any trouble!"

The man smirked, "I'll have you know that I don't take orders from kids. Also, I'll let you know that I am up to something here, and you can't stop me!"

Following this exclamation of power, the man ran off into the distance, his Machoke following close behind. Ron chased after him, but this man and his longer legs were far too quick for Ron, he just couldn't catch up.

Ron and Elekid stopped to catch their breath. What could this man want here in this abandoned power plant anyway? Could he be after the legendary Zapdos…the Pokemon that people said lived here?

"If he's after Zapdos, there's no way I'm going to let his go through with his plans. I don't wanna see what happens if a man like him gets a hold of a powerful Pokemon like that."

Ron made his way down the maze-like hallway. On his way, none of the Pokemon he saw really paid any notice to him. Either he was moving too quickly for them to notice him, or they just were not as aggressive as that Magnemite had been.

Before Ron made his way around another corner, he heard the man yell something to his Pokemon.

"Machoke, you have to pull through. I don't care if it is one of the legendary bird Pokemon, you still have to weaken it before I can capture it!"

So Ron was right. He really was after Zapdos. Ron had to stop him at any cost. Elekid, being an electric Pokemon, seemed to be especially frustrated that this man was causing hell for Zapdos.

It was then that Ron heard a screech of pain, one that had to have come from a bird of some sort. He turned around and his worst fears were confirmed.

The man's Machoke had someone dealt some serious damage to Zapdos. The large, bright colored bird lay collapsed on the floor, unable to fight any longer. It was at this point that the most amazing thing possible happened to Elekid.

It let out an angry cry, and then began to glow. This glow was much like that of Magnemite when it had evolved. Elekid grew to about three and a half feet, much taller than it had been before. Ron knew this Pokemon as Electabuzz, one of the most powerful electric Pokemon in the Kanto region.

Ron couldn't believe it. After all these years, his Elekid finally evolved into Electabuzz. This had been Ron's goal since he had received his Elekid those many years ago. This was perfect timing as well, because Electabuzz could use its new form to save Zapdos from being captured.

Excitement burning in Ron's eyes, he gave his first commands to his newly evolved Pokemon.

"Let's roll Electabuzz. Use your Thunderpunch attack at full power on Machoke!"

The man in the trench coat never saw this coming. He and his Pokemon turned around, distracted by Ron's battle cry. This gave Zapdos a chance to recover and weakly fly to safety.

At the same time that Zapdos flew into the rafters and out of view, Machoke was struck by Electabuzz's shocking strike. The muscular Pokemon fell backwards and into his master. Ron wondered why he always seemed to have his Pokemon hit other Pokemon into their trainers. It seemed to be something that just happened.

"We can't show any mercy buddy, we've got to give it all we've got. Throw a Thunderbolt attack at them now!"

Electabuzz charged electricity in both of its hands, much like when it would use its Thunderpunch attack. Instead of running at Machoke with the attack, it raised its fists high above its head, then slammed the electrified hands into each other. Harnessing the power very carefully, Electabuzz channeled the power into a stream that struck Machoke hard.

The Pokemon and its trainer, who were in close proximity of each other, light up in a bright white glow. Ron could hear their screams, and he was sure that Zapdos could as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the legend observing the battle with great satisfaction.

The electricity eventually caused an explosion, which blew the man and Machoke towards the ceiling. They shattered through the roof and far into the sky, out of sight to Ron. What seemed like a star shone in the distance where they had headed off to. Somewhere in the distance, Ron felt the pain of many fanboys. This was a strange feeling.

"Well Electabuzz, I don't know if this is the kind of training that Lt. Surge was talking about, but what happened today sure as hell helped. Best part of it was we got to help out a legendary Pokemon."

Ron left the power plant behind, unaware that he had gained the guardianship of a legendary Pokemon. The one think that was on his mind was the man in the trench coat. Ron wanted to know who he was and who he was working for…if it was anyone.


	18. Rematch in Vermillion City!

Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Rematch in Vermillion City!**

Ron's trip back to Vermillion City included a flood of thoughts about his rematch that was to occur when he arrived back at the gym. With his newly evolved Electabuzz, he felt unending confidence about his rematch. What concerned him the most was that he would have to defeat three Pokemon this time, not one.

"This fight is gonna be tough for me. Somehow I have to figure out how to take out not one, but three Pokemon. Hopefully that Raichu he used in our first battle was his best Pokemon and the others will be easier."

He then considered that maybe Raichu wasn't Lt. Surge's best Pokemon. It could have been his weakest Pokemon, meaning that Ron would really have to give it his all if he wanted to defeat all of the gym leader's Pokemon.

He figured there was nothing he could do about it, as he had to defeat this gym leader if he wanted to compete in the Pokemon League competition. Whatever the challenge was, Ron knew that he could rise to the occasion and win.

The funny thing was that Ron had completely forgotten about the man in the trench coat as the power plant went out of view. He had to focus on the things close at hand, not the things that may never come up again. One day, however, that man would be a threat again but Ron just didn't know it at the time.

He made his way to the Pokemon Center as soon as he reached the city. He hadn't realized how dark it had gotten outside, but once he did he knew that he would have to stay the night. He did so, but he had a tough time getting any sleep at all. This battle would be a true test of his ability.

He made his way to the gym after a healthy breakfast of cereal and fruit. A good breakfast is of course the best way to start any day; it gave Ron a refreshed feeling as he approached the large, repaired door to the Vermillion City gym. He pushed open said doors and made his way to where he saw Lt. Surge training with his Raichu.

As soon as the muscular gym leader noticed Ron out of the corner of his eye, he turned to greet the young man with great enthusiasm.

"Ron! It's great to see you again. I hope you found the power plant to be a great training site for your Elekid."

Ron nodded, and then gazed over at the battlefield. Lt. Surge noticed this and took the side of the field closest to the far end of the gym. Ron immediately took his side near the door and prepared for the battle. There was no need for anymore words…there was a battle to be fought here and now.

A Gymbot 3000 made its way to the center of the sidelines and announced the rules of the match. As previously stated in their last meeting, the battle would take place between three Pokemon per trainer. Both the challenger and leader reached to their belts and grabbed their starting Pokemon's Pokeball.

Ron decided to use his Bulbasaur to begin the battle, while the gym leader Lt. Surge opted to go with his Voltorb. Ron had seen the electric Pokemon before, but really never got an idea of its fighting style. Ron figured that it would roll around and try to attack his Pokemon directly, as it had no limbs that Ron was aware of…

"Bulbasaur, let's start things out with a Vine Whip attack!"

Ron's grass-type Pokemon did as it was told, releasing vines from its bulb, which it send plummeting at its foe. Lt. Surge's Voltorb was a swift Pokemon, as it was able to evade the attack without any problems.

The gym leader then bellowed out his command, "Counter that attack with your Tackle attack!"

The ball-shaped Pokemon rolled itself at Bulbasaur; picking up speed at it went along. Ron was worried that this attack would deal serious damage to his Pokemon. However, Ron had a plan at the last second.

"Bulbasaur let loose a spray of Leech Seed as soon as Voltorb gets close enough to you. If you time it right, you shouldn't have to worry about it hitting you!"

Bulbasaur trusted Ron, as so it went along with the plan. Although Voltorb nailed Bulbasaur, the seeds implanted themselves into Voltorb. The electric Pokemon was entangled by the sprouts that came out of the seeds, giving Ron and his Bulbasaur a chance to start out right.

"End this Bulbasaur; use your Razor Leaf attack!"

From the bulb where the vines had emerged from a minute earlier came a storm of razor sharp leaves. The onslaught nailed Voltorb as it struggled with its movement. The attack was enough to finish off Voltorb, who was declared unable to battle by the Gymbot 3000.

Lt. Surge returned his fallen Pokemon to its Pokeball and pulled a second Pokeball off his belt. The Pokemon he released onto the battlefield second was another Pokemon Ron had seen before. It was a Magneton, the powerful electric Pokemon that had attacked Ron at the power plant. This would be interesting.

Lt. Surge got in the first strike of this round, ordering his electric Pokemon to send a Thunderbolt attack towards Ron's Bulbasaur. The three magnets let out a buzz in unison as they charged up their attack. Directed straight at Bulbasaur, this would be a tough attack to evade.

Ron let out a cry to his Pokemon, "Use Vine Whip to propel yourself into the air to get out of the way!"

Bulbasaur left backwards, using its vines to boost itself a few extra feet into the air. These extra few feet protected it from the Thunderbolt attack, or at least Ron thought so. The electricity bounced off the floor, just high enough so that they reached Bulbasaur's extended vines. The vines acted as a path to Bulbasaur, who received a shock that was perhaps only a bit weaker than it would have been as a direct hit.

Ron's Pokemon fell to the ground, struggling to get to its feet. Sparks danced around its body, a clear sign that there were some side effects to the last attack. This left his Pokemon vulnerable to another attack, which happened to be Zap Cannon.

As soon as Lt. Surge let out the order to use said attack, the Magneton powered the attack the same as when the Magneton at the power plant had attacked Ron. Instead of missing like when the wild one had used it, this attack was a direct blow, causing an explosion on the battlefield.

The smoke soon cleared, showing Ron's defeated Pokemon lying on the ground. Ron was amazed at the power of this attack, knowing he couldn't take it lightly. He recalled his Pokemon to its Pokeball as soon as it was declared defeated, and then pulled out the Pokeball of his newest Pokemon…Growlithe.

The puppy Pokemon entered the fray, staring down its opponent. At first, Ron considered having his Pokemon let out a roar to scare Magneton into being recalled to its Pokeball, but then he recalled some information he learned in trainer's school. Magneton was part steel-type, which meant fire attacks would be super effective against it.

"You can do this Growlithe! Start things off with your Flamethrower technique against that Magneton"

His Pokemon reared back its head, and then released a stream of fire from its mouth. Lt. Surge ordered his Pokemon to counter with another Zap Cannon attack, but this time the attack went off course and hit the wall behind Ron. The flame, however, hit their mark on Magneton. Ron could tell the Pokemon was in pain.

He knew he didn't have much time to strike again, so he let out another order to his Growlithe. "Use your Flame Wheel attack next!"

At the same time that Growlithe let flames out of its mouth, it began to roll furiously towards Magneton. The flames grew until they completely engulfed Ron's Pokemon. Seeing the incoming danger, Lt. Surge ordered his Pokemon to make a last ditch effort and tackle into Growlithe at full speed.

This plan didn't work. The power of Growlithe's attack threw Magneton into the ground. The magnet bodied Pokemon let out a weak buzz before fainting, giving the victory to Ron and his Growlithe.

Lt. Surge smiled as he recalled his Pokemon to its Pokeball. "You've done well Ron, but this isn't over yet. I've saved my best Pokemon for last."

Raichu had been observing the battle for some time now, noting how talented Ron was as a Pokemon trainer. For some time now, the electric rodent was anticipating its turn to battle excitedly. It knew this fight would be different from the last one.

It took the field and awaited the orders of its trainer. Lt. Surge took some time to decide how he would begin this fight, but then it came to him. He would start things off by having his Pokemon use its Thunderbolt attack.

Raichu placed its paws on its cheeks, charging up electrical energy through its body. It released this energy in a stream, which jolted its way towards Growlithe. Ron's Pokemon leapt into the air just in time to avoid getting struck by the attack.

Ron cried out, "Alright Growlithe, try using your Flame Wheel attack again!"

His Pokemon obeyed, repeating the attack that had taken down Magneton. To counter the attack, Raichu charged up a Thunderpunch in its paw, ready to take the attack head on. The two Pokemon's attacks collided, but the Thunderpunch was too much for Growlithe, sending it backwards.

Growlithe hit the floor with great force, and then struggled to get on its feet again. When it could not, it was declared unable to battle. Ron recalled his Pokemon, commending it on a great job in battle. It was all up to Electabuzz now.

Ron hurled his Pokemon's Pokeball onto the battlefield. Lt. Surge seemed very impressed with Ron's newly evolved Pokemon.

"Well Ron, I see the training at the power plant really helped out your Electabuzz. Maybe you ran into the mighty Zapdos?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe I did…"

With this, the fight began. Ron ordered his Electabuzz to start off with a Thunderbolt attack. Lt. Surge ordered Raichu to do the same. Sparks danced in the air as the two attacks struck each other in mid-flight.

These two Pokemon were a good match for each other, which meant something would have to give if this fight was to ever end. Both trainers knew this, so they started to make things interesting.

"Electabuzz, rush at Raichu with a Thunderpunch attack!"

Electabuzz charged at its opponent, attempting to strike it with its fist. Lt. Surge ordered his Pokemon to propel itself into the air with its tail, then jump behind Electabuzz and nail it with its own Thunderpunch attack.

Ron would have none of this. He ordered Electabuzz to do a Low Kick attack behind it, where Raichu was bound to land. The idea worked and Electabuzz's glowing leg sent Raichu flying backwards. Ron had to end this now.

"We really got them this time, use your Thunderpunch again at full power!"

Lt. Surge could do nothing but watch, as his Pokemon was struggling to get to its feet already following the Low Kick attack it had been hit by. The Thunderpunch caused an explosion that knocked the snot right out of Raichu. This time it was the Pokemon declared unable to battle.

Waving a green flag in Ron's direction, the Gymbot 3000 announced, "Raichu is unable to battle. This means that Electabuzz and the challenger have won the battle!"

Ron ran to his victorious Pokemon, embracing the delighted Pokemon. Lt. Surge recalled Raichu back to its Pokeball; he would take it to the Pokemon Center to recover later in the day. Ron grinned, knowing that he had won the battle this time.

The gym leader approached Ron, holding in his band a small shiny object. IT was none other than the badge that he had just earned…what was it called again?

"Ron, I want you to have this Thunder Badge. It's proof that you had this battle and defeated me. Take it with pride!"

Ron clenched in his hand the prize he had his eye on…the badge that he fought and lost for a few days ago. The loss he suffered was in the past now, it meant nothing because now he had his third badge. He thanked Lt. Surge and went on his way, as he never was a fan of hanging around somewhere longer than he had to. From here, he had to take the Rock Tunnel, which would lead to Lavender Town.

What will happen next? Keep reading to find out!


	19. Into the Darkness! Rivals Cooperate!

Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Into the Darkness! Rivals Cooperate!**

According to Ron's map, there was only one possible way to reach Lavender Town, his next stop on his way to greatness. He would have to travel northeast of Vermillion City again, but instead of stopping at the power plant, he would have to go through some cave called the Rock Tunnel. Now, Ron had heard of this tunnel before. He knew it was darkness, and nothing but.

Without something to light his way, he was sure to get lost in the cave. It was not until he reached the Pokemon Center outside the tunnel that he took that into consideration. Nurse Joy conveniently had lanterns that were handed out to trainers that had no other way of lighting their way. As he made his way over to the table were they were, he noticed a familiar face…

How could he not recognize his rival, the boy with the neat clothes and the unbeatable attitude? He wondered how Seth had been doing since they had last seen each other, so Ron approached Seth and began a conversation. Seth looked surprised, as he hadn't noticed Ron yet.

Ron said, "Well hello there Seth. Long time no see, eh? How have you been?"

Seth replied with a slight smile, "Well, I've earned three badges now, so I suppose I'm doing quite well. I take it you've won a few more badges as well?"

Ron nodded to his rival, "Yeah, I beat Misty and Lt. Surge at their gyms, so now I'm on my way through the Rock Tunnel so I can continue the path to the Pokemon League."

Seth laughed, "Well, you've got quite a way to go. How about we go through the cave together? It's pretty dangerous to go alone."

Ron agreed as the two trainers picked up lanterns to take through the tunnel. After waiting for their Pokemon to heal up, they left through the sliding doors, preparing to make their way through the cave.

Ron noticed that Seth had an additional two Pokeballs with him. He knew two of them belonged to his Zubat and Squirtle, but who were in the other ones?

Instead of asking, he simply followed his rival into the darkness, not knowing what to expect of what awaited him. Seth clicked on his lantern, which flickered for a moment before completely turning on. Ron followed by turning on the lantern in his hand.

The rock walls of the tunnel were slightly visible to Ron, who took note of the strange quiet atmosphere. He wondered where all the Pokemon were that made their home in this tunnel. Ron wasn't used to being out in the wild and not seeing any Pokemon, as they seemed to swarm any other area.

The quiet didn't last all that long, as when they made their way deeper into the cave, three large boulders came rolling towards them. Ron barely got out of the way of one of them, and Seth did the same. Slamming into the wall of the tunnel, the three boulders came to a halt. Suddenly, they erupted open to reveal strange four armed rock Pokemon. Ron quickly reached for his Pokedex to scan the mysterious Pokemon.

"**Graveler: the rock Pokemon. It is the evolved form of Geodude. With its rock hard body, it is able to take out Pokemon much larger than it."**

Ron thought to himself, _"So this is the evolved form of Geodude? Good, I'll get to see what it'll be like when my Geodude gets stronger."_

Ron reached for the Pokeball containing his Bulbasaur. Seth reached for a Pokeball as well. He decided to stick to his Squirtle, which was a good plan because of the advantage that water types have against rock and ground type Pokemon.

Seth order out to his Pokemon, "Hit one of those Graveler with your Water Gun attack!"

Ron followed Seth's lead and ordered his Bulbasaur to use its Razor Leaf attack. Seth seemed a bit disappointed when Bulbasaur's attack hit two of the Graveler, while his Squirtle's Water Gun only hit one of them.

The Graveler seemed angry by what had happened, but knew that it was no point to continue fighting. They rolled off from where they had come from. Ron had a feeling that this would not be the last time that he saw Pokemon in here that spontaneously attacked trainers passing by.

Seth congratulated his Pokemon for a job well done and Ron did the same with his Pokemon as well. The two trainers worked better together than they had expected, but perhaps it had more to do with the luck that they had with type advantages in that fight.

Ron turned to Seth, "So, do you have any idea where to go?"

Seth shrugged his shoulders, "I figure it's a straight path through this tunnel. I know we have to go down a floor, and then come back up on the other side, but that's about it. I'm sure we can figure it out."

Ron nodded, and then followed his rival after they both recalled their Pokemon to their Pokeballs. Ron continued to wonder what other Pokemon Seth had with him, but decided again not to bother him with such a trivial question. He figured that eventually he would find out anyway.

They eventually did make their way to a simple rope ladder, which took them down to the lower level of the cave. It was even darker here than it was on the main level of the cave, as Ron could barely see his hands in front of his face. He guessed that his visibility was less than one foot. This made it even more difficult for them to see their way through the cave. However, Seth had an idea.

He sent out his Zubat, and then turned to Ron to explain what he was doing. "Zubat can help us find out way through this cave with its Supersonic attack."

Ron nodded, understanding what Seth was saying. This was a splendid idea that would most likely get them through the cave in no time at all. Ron did worry that if a Pokemon got hit by the attack, it might end up going insane and attacking Zubat.

Luckily, nothing of that sort happened, and they only passed a few wild Pokemon along their way. This Pokemon seemed to want to avoid the two Pokemon trainers, or they were running from something. Ron guessed this because of the frantic look on the face of one of the Geodude that passed them on their way down the tunnel.

Ron got that thought out of his mind as he and Seth made their way through. Ron felt something brush across his shoulder. Upon further investigation he discovered that it was the ladder that would lead them to the other side of the tunnel, where he and Seth could make it out of the cave.

He allowed Seth to go first, and then joined him at the top of the ladder. Seth told his Zubat it did a fine job, and then recalled it to its Pokeball. He turned to Ron.

"I don't know if you noticed, but the Pokemon that we saw on the lower floor seemed to be distressed about something. Whether that means something to you or not doesn't matter. All I know is there might be a powerful Pokemon for us to capture in this cave somewhere."

Ron replied, "Is that all you worry about? What if this Pokemon could really hurt us? It could be too powerful…you just never know."

Seth shrugged his shoulders. Ron wondered how he could stay so calm in a situation where he was literally facing the unknown. The unknown that could in fact be…nothing at all but their imaginations gone wild. Ron hoped that was all it was as he and Seth made their way down the tunnel, their lanterns ablaze.

They saw a small human-like figure off in the distance. As they got closer, they noticed that it was not a human, but that it was actually a Pokemon. Ron recognized this Pokemon from the countless trips he made past the Pokemon Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. It was the fighting Pokemon champ Machop.

"Wow," exclaimed Seth.

He had never seen this Pokemon before. Ron wondered if he would try to catch it, as he already had a Mankey that he was training for his team. Ron wasn't surprised as his rival pulled out a Pokeball. He threw it on the rocky ground in front of Machop. The Pokemon exploded opening, revealing the Pokemon inside.

It was a cat-like Pokemon who stood on its two hind legs. It had a shiny gold coin…or something like that…on its forehead. Ron had never seen this Pokemon before, but Seth explained who it was.

"This is Meowth, my first Pokemon I ever caught. I've had this Pokemon as long as I've been on my own…Meowth is like family to me."

Ron just nodded, understanding what Seth meant. Meowth was like the only family Seth ever had. Ron could never imagine having that sort of bond with his Pokemon, as he grew up with his family. However he knew how much Meowth meant to its trainer. He couldn't wait to have a battle against Meowth one day.

Seth ordered to his Pokemon, "Give Machop a taste of your Fury Swipes!"

With its claws flailing in the darkness of the cave, Meowth rushed at Machop. The fighting Pokemon shielded itself, but Ron could tell that it was hurt by the attack. By shielding itself, it prevented any direct hits.

Seth yelled out, "Great job Meowth. Keep up the good work and use your Shadow Ball technique."

Ron was a bit surprised by this maneuver, since he wasn't used to seeing a Pokemon like Meowth use a ghost-type attack like Shadow Ball. Right before his eyes, the small cat Pokemon charged up the purple and black ball of energy between its paws, then hurled the energy straight at Machop.

The fighting Pokemon promptly batted the attack away, which would lead to it not being harmed at all by said attack. Ron could see the frustration in Seth's eyes as he ordered his Pokemon back to its Pokeball. This Machop was really a good match for Ron, who hurled out his Electabuzz's Pokeball.

Seth seemed impressed at Ron's newly evolved Pokemon. Ron ordered his Pokemon to use a Thunderpunch straight at Machop. The fighting Pokemon countered this blow with its Mega Punch attack. The two Pokemon fell backwards from the attack. Ron knew he would have to work quickly to win this struggle.

"Electabuzz, you have to fight harder! Use your Thunderpunch again without giving Machop a chance to recover from that last attack."

Electabuzz did so, but as it came forward, Machop rolled away, sticking out its leg to trip Electabuzz. At this point, Ron had enough of this Pokemon. He ordered his Pokemon to use Thunderbolt attack, which struck the surprised fighting Pokemon hard.

Ron quickly reached for a Pokeball at his belt and hurled it at the stunned Pokemon. The Machop was sucked into the Pokeball. It put up quite a fight, but in the end, the Pokeball won the war. Ron had caught a Machop. He reached for his Pokedex, pushing the white button on the side left of the screen. The Pokeball was sent off to Professor Oak's lab.

Seth turned to Ron, "Make sure you check up on this Pokemon when you get back to a city. All you have to do is call the professor on one of the free TV phones they have there."

Ron thanked his rival, and then allowed him to lead the way out of the cave. The found the exit, allowing themselves to be bathed in sunlight for the first time in a few hours. It felt odd having their eyes adjust to normal light again. Figuring they would drop off the lanterns at the Pokemon Center they would find in Lavender Town, they set off in the direction of a sign that said:

**"Lavender Town: Just this way."**

What adventures awaited Ron here? Keep reading to find out!


	20. The Stolen Pokeflute! Destiny Awaits in

Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**The Stolen Pokeflute! Destiny Awaits in Celadon City!**

Ron and Seth had said their goodbyes before even reaching the Lavender Town Pokemon Center, but that was okay. The two young trainers had gained a bit more respect for each other, as they needed to work as a team to escape the trials of the Rock Tunnel. They promised each other the next time they met it would be to have a battle.

Ron said to himself out loud, "I best head to the Pokemon Center. I could use some rest after that long trip, plus I wouldn't mind checking up on Machop."

His rival had suggested that he call Professor Oak, so Ron made his way to the free TV phones at the Pokemon Center as soon as he went through the sliding doors. Then it occurred to him…he didn't know Professor Oak's phone number. A young man next to him noticed how puzzled Ron looked, so he offered assistance.

"Hey, you seem a bit confused with the phone services offered here. Mind if I lend you a hand?"

Ron nodded, glad to get the help when he needed it most. "That'd be great. I'm trying to call Professor Oak."

The man replied, "You have a Pokedex right? If so, all you have to do is slide it into this slot here."

Ron pulled out the device from his pocket and placed it into the slot that the man pointed out to him. Suddenly a number was being dialed and Professor Oak soon appeared on the screen.

It took the old man a bit of time, but he soon recognized Ron as the young man who had come to him about four or so months ago in order to get his Pokemon journey underway.

"Hello there Ron! How are you doing?"

Ron smiled, "I'm fine sir. Did you get the Pokemon I caught awhile back?"

The professor nodded. Suddenly Ron saw his Machop come to the screen as the old man called it over. Ron waved to his newly caught Pokemon.

"Hey there Machop! I hope you're going to be training hard, because I plan on entering you in a tournament over at the fighting dojo in Saffron City."

The fighting Pokemon pumped its fists, showing that it was loaded with energy and ready to take on any Pokemon that came its way. Ron was glad that he had caught the energetic Pokemon.

After saying their goodbyes, Ron hung up the phone and made his way to the front desk of the Pokemon Center. He took the time to rent a room for himself, and then made his way over to the cafeteria. He ordered his meal, a large salad and soda, and then made his way over to an empty table not too far from where he had paid for the food.

While enjoying his meal, he couldn't help but overhear a conversation being had one table over by a few young people about Ron's age.

A young boy with dusty brown hair exclaimed, "Did you hear about Team Rocket? They're apparently holding that old man hostage up at the Pokemon Tower."

A younger girl, who looked afraid, chimed in, "I hope they don't hurt him. Mr. Fuji is very kind to Pokemon."

Another older boy said, "Quiet sis…what we wanna know is what they want with the old man. Maybe he has something they want?"

Ron had heard enough. Why did he always seem to listen in on people when they talk at the Pokemon Center? He really needed to stop doing that, but maybe he could save this old man Mr. Fuji if he went up to the Pokemon Tower and took on some Rockets. Then again, he didn't exactly have an easy time the last two times he ran into that notorious gang.

He made his way to the counter and dropped off his Pokemon's Pokeballs. Taking the time to wait for them in the lobby, he avoided any of the magazines they had sitting on a rack not too far from where he was sitting. He knew well enough too avoid old magazines…to be honest…they suck.

When his name was called, he went up to get his Pokeballs. Placing them on his belt, he asked the Nurse Joy at the counter if he could have a room for the night. She kindly handed him a key, telling him that his room was on the second floor…room 217.

Instead of taking the elevator, Ron decided to be "in shape" and take the stairs. It only took his a few seconds, as it was only one flight of stairs. If he had gotten a room on a higher floor, he'd probably be lazy and take the elevator. Either way, he found his room quickly and settled in for the night. In the morning he would have time to work out this Team Rocket problem.

Morning came quicker than Ron hoped it would. He awoke from his dreams, which he couldn't remember. Most likely it was some cliché dream about him overcoming some goal or something, but that really isn't any concern of anyone but Ron…if he remembered any of his dreams lately.

He ran downstairs and picked up something from the breakfast table. It didn't take him all that long to eat, as he was kind of in a hurry. He knew that he had to get to that Pokemon Tower as soon as possible if he was to help out.

The tower wasn't that hard to spot. It was easily the tallest building in Lavender Town. It had a gloomy look to it, even in the morning. Ron had heard that ghost Pokemon populate this tower, and he always had wanted to catch a ghost Pokemon.

He soon found that he would not get the chance today. As he came closer he noticed at least a dozen police cars outside of the tower. There was police tape everywhere covering the entrance.

Ron thought to himself, _"Great…with all these police cars here, there must be tons of cops around this place. They must have at least taken down Team Rocket, which means I don't have to risk my life up in that tower."_

There was an old man leaning on a rock wall close to the tower. There were many people around, asking him questions. All of this seemed to frustrate the man to no end. At last he shouted at the crowd to stop.

"Look, if no one here has seen my Pokeflute, it means that those no good Rockets really did take it from me. With it, they could summon that horrible beast…we must stop them!"

Ron didn't want to barge into the conversation, but the mention of a horrible beast worried the young trainer. He had to stop the Rockets at any cost, and saving people from a horrible beast made that task that much more important to him.

He approached the old man, who didn't flip out like Ron had expected him to. The man was surprisingly calm at the sign of the young confident Pokemon trainer approaching him and showing no fear.

Ron reached out his hand to shake while introducing himself. This old man had an extremely strong handshake. "My name is Ron. I'm a Pokemon trainer from Saffron City. I couldn't help hear that Team Rocket took something of yours."

Ron saw a slight smile on the man's face. He responded, "My name is Mr. Fuji and yes you did hear correctly. Those fiends stole my Pokeflute, and I will stop at nothing to get it back!"

The young trainer nodded, and reassured the old man that he would do his best to try to reclaim the Pokeflute before Team Rocket is able to do anything evil with it. He actually wanted to see this beast, but not at the cost of lives perhaps.

Ron made his way from the crowd and off to a quieter place where he could do some thinking. He needed to get some sort of clue as to where the Rockets may have gone off with this flute. They had already gone too far when they kidnapped Bill the Pokemaniac, but stealing from an old man was a horrible thing to do.

After talking to a few of the citizens, he discovered that one of them had seen two Rockets run off in the direction of Celadon City. It was a good thing that Ron knew exactly how to get there. In fact, he could either go through Saffron City or take the Underground Tunnel that run beneath his home city.

Because he didn't want to return home just yet, Ron decided that he would take the Underground Tunnel that lead there. He knew that this one wasn't exactly covered with a load of criminals, as he had taken it a few times when he was younger. Elekid and Ron loved to explore in the tunnel, sometimes finding wild Pokemon to test their skills against.

Ron went towards the west gate, on his way to chase down the Rockets that had caused so much trouble. He wanted to eventually return to this town to explore the Pokemon Tower, but at the time he knew that it would be best to do what he promised to do, which was to track down criminals.

It took him about a half hour or so before he couldn't see any civilization behind him. He knew that it would take him about half a day to reach the Underground Tunnel, so he decided that he would take a break to eat and regain his strength.

Electabuzz, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, and Growlithe enjoyed their food that Ron had prepared for them. Ron was glad that he could prepare Pokemon food from what he bought at local stores, because it kept his Pokemon strong and ready to battle.

While he was sitting down and enjoying his food, he considered recalling his Machop so he would have another Pokemon to assist him. In the end he came to the conclusion that he would wait, as he remembered that he would meet up with the Day-care Man in Celadon City and receive his Geodude back that he left with the man for training.

Not only that, but he planned on entering the Double Battle Tournament that was being held in Celadon City very soon. He hoped that he would run into Emma while he was there, because then he would be able to be paired up with someone that he already knew instead of teaming up with a stranger.

When the meal was complete, Ron recalled his Pokemon to their Pokeballs and packed up his things. Eventually he did reach the Underground Tunnel, which he got through with ease. On the other side, he saw the east gate that lead into Celadon City. He knew that not only did he need to find the Rockets here, but he had a Double Battle Tournament to enter, an old friend to meet up with, and a gym battle that he needed to win.

The gym battle may have been the last thing on his mind, but Ron knew that he would need to be in great condition if he wanted to be able to beat the Celadon City gym leader. She specialized in grass-type Pokemon, which meant that Ron would get another chance to use his Growlithe in a battle.

What kinds of adventures await Ron in Celadon City? Keep reading to find out!


	21. Geodude’s Return! Vs Team Rocket!

Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Geodude's Return! Vs. Team Rocket!**

When Ron had arrived at the Celadon City Pokemon Center for the night, he was told by the nurse at the counter that he had a package waiting for him. He was handed a small cardboard box with a Pokeball inside of it. Ron pushed the button on it and out emerged his Geodude.

He happily greeted his old friend that he had left with the Day-Care man. There was a note in the box as well, informing Ron that although he could not meet up with Ron in person, the Day-Care man made sure that he kept his promise to Ron and returned the Pokemon.

With the return of his old Pokemon, Ron checked into the Pokemon Center's hotel section for the night. He went up to his room and collapsed on the bed.

He sighed to himself, "I forgot how much I had in store for me here. First of all, I need to find Team Rocket. Then I have that double-battle tournament and the gym battle."

Ron knew he'd be in Celadon City for awhile, but he didn't mind stalling a bit on his return home to Saffron City. He knew eventually he would have to return to challenge his father for the Marsh Badge, but until then he could wait.

Night came and went. Ron found himself standing outside of the Pokemon Center on a peaceful morning. The usually busy streets of the city were empty, except for a man in all black on the side of the road.

It was then that Ron noticed the big red R on his shirt…this could only mean one thing. This guy was part of Team Rocket. Without thinking, Ron rushed across the street towards the Rocket. He threw out the Pokeball containing Bulbasaur, ordering his grass Pokemon to restrain the man with a Vine Whip.

The startled Rocket attempted to flee from Ron, but his leg speed was no match for Bulbasaur's vines. He was trapped with no way of escape.

Ron rushed over to where he had fallen on the ground. He pulled the restrained criminal to his feet. The questioning began.

Ron yelled at the Rocket. "Tell me everything you know about the Pokeflute! Everything!"

Ron usually wasn't the angry type, but when it came to criminals like Team Rocket, he made an exception. There was no way in hell that he was going to let them get away with what they had done this time.

The frightened Rocket responded after some hesitation. "Look, if you go to the Game Corner, there's a poster on the back wall. If you push the button behind it, it'll open up the secret passageway to our hideout. From there you should be able to find what you're looking for."

Ron threw the man to the ground, and then ran off in the direction of the Game Corner. As soon as the Rocket saw Ron go out of sight, he pulled out a small walkie-talkie. Into the device he said, "Except an intruder from the Game Corner entrance of the hideout. Give him a welcome he'll never forget."

Although Ron had passed the Game Corner a few times on his way through the city, he never had stopped in there before. As far as he could see there were slot machines and people, even this early in the morning, excitedly winning. He made his way to the back of the building, searching for the poster he had been told about.

He found a poster advertising the Celadon City Department Store and figured it was the one he was looking for. Sure enough, when he pulled the bottom of the poster off the way, it revealed a small red button. Most of the time, red buttons were to be avoided, yet Ron made an exception this time.

A hidden door opened to the right of the poster. Ron walked over to it and found that it lead to a staircase. Although he really didn't know what he was getting himself into, he made his way down the stairs and into the Rocket Hideout.

Moments after he made his way out of the staircase, he was ambushed a Rocket. Clenching a Pokeball in his hand, the Rocket had a strange smile on his face. He sent out the Pokemon, which Ron recognized as a Golbat. He thought he recognized this man, but he couldn't be sure if it was the same Rocket he met on the Nugget Bridge. Either way, he had to battle this man.

Ron reached for a Pokeball, throwing it to the ground. He cried out, "Electabuzz, we have to work fast. Hit that Golbat with a Thunderbolt attack!"

The electrical Pokemon charged up energy, and then let it loose straight at the Golbat. Being a flying type Pokemon, it took massive damage from the attack. The Pokemon fell to the ground; fried by the powerful shock it had been given.

The Rocket could barely believe what he had just seen, but he decided to run off without sending out another Pokemon to fight against Ron. This was expected, as when you see your Pokemon go down in one hit, what else do you want to do but run?

Noticing something shiny on the ground, Ron walked over to where the Rocket was standing. He saw a small key with a label on it that read "Elevator Key." Ron wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but he knew that it must be something important for this base if that Rocket had it.

It wouldn't be long before Ron noticed an elevator. It was down the hallway and to the left. On the way, Ron dispatched a handful of Rocket Grunts, using his Growlithe and Pidgeotto in order to get them ready for their upcoming gym battle. He knew these Rockets weren't exactly great training, but he ignored that fact. A battle was a battle after all.

Ron placed the key into the keyhole, and then with a slight movement of his wrist activated the mechanisms inside the elevator. The door opened, revealing a simple elevator. On one side there were buttons labeling five different floors of the base. Ron noticed that one of the buttons said "Headquarters" on it, so he figured this meant that their boss was here.

Ron thought out loud, "Maybe if I go to their boss, I'll be able to find that Pokeflute that they took from that old man back in Lavender Town."

He pushed the button, activating the elevator. It moved him down to the last floor of the secret base, and then opened up. Two Rockets that were standing guard at a door looked quite surprised to see the young trainer before their eyes.

One of them cried out to Ron, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

The other shouted out, "How did you get down here?"

Ron didn't answer either of them in the way they probably wanted him too, but instead grabbed a Pokeball from his belt. He sent out his Bulbasaur, preparing for a fight.

The Rocket to Ron's left smiled as she pulled out a Pokeball from her belt. She sent out her Pokemon, the snake-like Ekans. The other Rocket pulled out a Pokeball from his belt, sending out a Sandshrew. Sandshrew was a armadillo-like Pokemon, bright yellow with a lighter belly.

Ron knew he'd have to send out another Pokemon, so he choose his Geodude, who had not been in a fight alongside Ron in quite some time. He figured now was the best time to fight alongside Geodude again.

Geodude looked up at its trainer, nodding to show that it was ready to fight again.

Ron gave out the first orders, telling his Bulbasaur to attack with a Razor Leaf while telling Geodude to brace itself for a counter attack. He didn't want to send Geodude into the fray; for fear that it would be struck by Razor Leaf.

The Sandshrew was struck hard by the sharp leaves, but Ekans leapt out of the way. The female Rocket commanding the snake ordered it to attack Bulbasaur by biting into it. Ron countered by ordering his Geodude to tackle into the snake.

The rock Pokemon slammed hard into Ekans, knocking it backwards and into its trainer. Frustrated, the female Rocket yelled at her Pokemon to get off of her. Ron saw this as his chance to strike another blow.

"Bulbasaur, use your Vine Whip on Sandshrew!"

The male Rocket ordered his Pokemon to bat the vines away with its claws, which worked to some extent. One of the two vines was struck, but the other found its mark, landing a critical blow on Sandshrew. The ground-type Pokemon could take no more, and so it was returned.

The female Rocket, seeing that the fight was a lost cause, recalled her Pokemon. With her partner close by, she retreated into the distance. Ron walked up to the large wooden door that faced him. He knew that something was beyond this door that the Rockets didn't want him to reach, so he opened the door and went inside.

Ron saw a man behind a desk that could be none other than Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. The cold-hearted man stared at Ron, wondering why the young man has bravely made his was into the core of his secret base.

He began to talk to Ron, who stood clenching his fists with anger. He said, "I take it you came here for the Pokeflute, did you not? I'm sorry to inform you that it isn't here anymore. I had it transferred to my main headquarters the moment I was told that there was an intruder in my Game Corner base."

Ron replied, "Either way, I'm here to take you down once and for all!"

Giovanni laughed at this threat, "Young man, do you really believe you can take me down? I am the leader of Team Rocket, and one of the most powerful Pokemon trainers in the Kanto region. You're out of your league!"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "People have been telling me that all along. It never stopped me before."

At this, Giovanni smiled. "Kid, there's something about you I like. Tell you what, I'll battle you right here and now. It'll just be a one on one battle, but it'll show you my power."

Ron liked that, and so he told Bulbasaur to prepare for a fight. He recalled Geodude, complimenting his Pokemon to a triumphant return to his team. Giovanni, on the other hand, rose from his desk, clenching a Pokeball in his hand. He sent out the Pokemon inside, which happened to be a Rhyhorn.

He gestured to Ron, giving him the honor of the first attack. Ron yelled out, "Bulbasaur, let's get things started off with a Vine Whip on that Rhyhorn!"

Giovanni then gave his orders, "Ram right through the attack, tackle straight into that Bulbasaur!"

With amazing power and speed, Rhyhorn rushed through the vines without even getting hurt. It then collided with Ron's Bulbasaur, sending it flying backwards and into the wall.

Ron rushed over to Bulbasaur, checking to see if it could still fight. After being convinced his Pokemon could still fight, he ordered for a Razor Leaf attack.

Giovanni simply let the attack strike his Pokemon, as it didn't seem to do all that much damage. He then ordered for his Pokemon to strike Bulbasaur again, dealing a critical blow to the grass Pokemon.

Ron pleaded with his Pokemon to push itself to the limit…and so it did. Energy began to build up around the bulb of the grass Pokemon. The young trainer immediately recognized this as the beginning of a Solar Beam attack.

When the time was right, Ron ordered out to his Pokemon to use a Solar Beam attack. The energy was like nothing Ron had ever seen before. A beam of amazing power struck Rhyhorn with such a force that it was thrown backwards towards Giovanni, who had to duck in order to avoid certain injury.

The Rocket leader stared in awe at the shear power of Ron's Pokemon. After recalling his Pokemon back, he had choice words for Ron. "Young man, you are one of the most powerful trainers I have ever fought. Although I did not use the best of my abilities, I feel as though that would not have made a difference. I shall see you again."

With that, Giovanni disappeared in a flash of light that was so bright Ron had to shield his eyes for fear of being made blind. Since their leader had fled, there was no reason for Ron to be in the Rocket Headquarters. He made his way out through the way he had come into the base, entering the Game Corner without being noticed by anyone.

He traveled back to the Pokemon Center, where he saw a familiar face once again…


	22. Emma Returns! Vs Vileplume!

Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Emma's Return! Vs Vileplume!**

Ron was looking ahead at Emma, his rival that he had not seen since they were near Bill's house north of Cerulean City. She hadn't changed one bit, except Ron did notice the badge case in her hand.

He walked up, starting conversation with his friend, "Hey how have you been?"

She smiled, replying, "I've been just fine. I just got back from Celadon City gym. I had to prepare myself the best I could for the Celadon City Double Battle Tournament coming up soon."

Ron had forgotten about that tournament, so he needed a refresher on when it would be. Then again, she had never told him when it was.

So he said, "When is that tournament anyway?"

She laughed, "You really don't know? Then again, I probably never mentioned the details to you. It's a week from tomorrow, so you've got some time till it starts. Sign up is the same day as the tournament, so you don't have anything to worry about for eight days."

Ron nodded, and then mentioned that he was actually on his way to the Celadon City gym. Emma offered to show him to the gym, since she had just been there earlier. They did remember to have their Pokemon rested up, and on the way there, Ron told his friend of his adventure at the Game Corner.

Emma exclaimed, "That was you that ran Team Rocket out of Celadon? That's amazing. I heard it was some young trainer, but I never expected it would be you!"

Ron shrugged, "Well I gotta do what I gotta do to protect people from evil."

Then conversation shifted to catching up on what the two had been up two while apart. Ron wasn't surprised to hear that Emma's Charmander had evolved recently, as it was her starter Pokemon and her most powerful.

He knew that a fire-type Pokemon would really come in handy against Erika, so he planned on using his Growlithe in the upcoming gym battle. After all, Growlithe already did well in its other gym battle, so why not? Pidgeotto would also come in handy.

On the subject of his third choice for a Pokemon in the gym battle, he decided that it would be best if he were to use Bulbasaur. His grass Pokemon had been doing quite well as of late, especially against the leader of Team Rocket himself and his powerful Pokemon. That Solar Beam attack would be great to use, even against a Pokemon of the same type.

As the gym came into view, Ron's heart began to beat faster. The adrenaline that battle brought to his body really zoned him in, allowed him to concentrate better on what he was doing at the time. Walking through the sliding doors, Ron glanced around and noticed that he was the only boy in the area.

He got some funny looks and angry glares from the trainers of the gym. One particularly angry girl blocked his was further. She was a blonde with a white tee shirt and blue shorts. Ron noticed she wasn't bad looking at all. Emma, who was still with Ron, went up to Ron's side to defend him.

The blonde haired girl said, "Look young lady, if you want to pass through to Erika, you sure can. Your boyfriend has to wait her."

Emma stuttered a bit, taken aback by what the lady had said. Ron saw a bit of red form around her cheeks as she replied.

"We're just friends, and look, he wants to challenge the gym leader, and he's free to do it. You best get out of our way now!"

Ron was surprised at how aggressive she was in trying to get Ron to the gym leader. Suddenly, a calm girl approached them from the path the blonde was blocking. She had black hair that went down to her neck. She was wearing a red and yellow Kimono. Ron thought it looked nice.

She asked for an explanation for all the noise, and the blonde explained that Ron, a boy, wanted to go further into the gym to challenge the leader…who was none other then the calm girl before Ron.

Erika turned to Ron, "You're welcome to challenge this gym if you wish. Please follow me and we can have our battle right now."

She recognized Emma, nodding and smiling to her when she acknowledged her. Ron really had met some nice people since he had become a Pokemon trainer, and Erika was no exception. In fact she was one of the calmest people Ron had ever met, just by these first impressions.

Ron and Emma were escorted through what seemed to be a greenhouse filled with some of the most interesting and colorful varieties of plants that Ron had ever seen in his life. It was a nice atmosphere for someone to have a gym battle in.

They reached the arena, which was right in the middle of this haven of nature. Ron was surprised to see that there was no Gymbot 3000 to be seen. Instead, there was a girl referee who Ron assumed would observe the match and use her own judgment to determine the outcome. It was old-school, but Ron liked it.

The two trainers took their respective sides on the field, while Emma took a seat on a bench, giving her a great view of the entire battle. The referee began to speak, giving them a run-down of the rules.

"This will be a three on three match. Only the challenger can substitute Pokemon at any time. The match is over when one side's Pokemon are unable to battle. There will be no time limits."

Ron nodded to the referee, showing that he understood the rules. She took a bit of a second glance at Ron, noticing that he wasn't a girl challenger. At the same time, Ron pulled a Pokeball off his belt. He threw it onto the field, while Erika did the same.

Ron opted to go with using Pidgeotto as his first Pokemon, while Erika decided to use a Pokemon Ron had never seen before. It looked like a mess of vines with red feet. Ron looked into the vines and saw two eyes, but other then that…darkness.

He scanned his Pokedex for data on the mysterious Pokemon, only to discover that it was a Tangela, the vine Pokemon. Ron was warned that if his Pokemon got too close, it could get tangled up in the vines.

Because of this, Ron was careful about his first attack selection. "Pidgeotto, start things off by using a Gust attack. Try to knock it off balance!"

Erika countered, ordering her Pokemon to use a Vine Whip straight at Pidgeotto. Ron's Pokemon, using its impressive speed, evaded the attack. It then waved its wings at rapid speed, until the force caused a powerful tornado to form. Tangela was caught in the attack, swept up into the air.

Ron cried out, "Now's our chance! Slam into Tangela with your wings! You can do it!"

Noticing that this could be it for her Pokemon, Erika ordered for Tangela to release toxic powder into the winds. It was too late for Pidgeotto to stop, and the bird nailed a direct hit on the grass Pokemon. However, Ron could tell that the purple powder released into the air had some effect on Pidgeotto as the winds died down and Tangela fell to the ground.

Looking in disbelief, the referee declared that Tangela was unable to battle any longer. Ron and Pidgeotto didn't have much time to celebrate, however, as the bird was greatly in pain. It seemed to be poison that had been in those winds, which wasn't good at all. From what Ron had learned in school, poison slowly weakens Pokemon until they faint.

As soon as Erika sent out her next Pokemon, Ron decided it would be best to swap out his bird for another Pokemon. Her next Pokemon looked a bit familiar, but at the same time was different. Ron recognized the Pokemon as Ivysaur, the evolved form of his Bulbasaur.

Ivysaur appeared to be a bit larger then Bulbasaur. Also, the bulb on its back opened up a bit to reveal a pinkish flower surrounded by green leaves. This would be interesting…Ron planned on switching out to his Bulbasaur for this fight.

Before Erika could get a chance to launch an attack, Ron pulled out Pidgeotto's Pokeball and recalled his Pokemon to its Pokeball. He grabbed Bulbasaur's Pokeball and sent it out to battle. His Pokemon seemed surprised to be face to face with its evolved form, but it wouldn't let that slow down anything.

"Bulbasaur, you can do it. Give that Ivysaur a taste of your Razor Leaf attack!"

His Pokemon released leaves with edges as sharp as any knife, aiming right for its opponent. Erika's Pokemon turned around, and the gym leader nodded to her Pokemon. It used a Vine Whip to slap down the leaves, causing them to harmlessly drop to the dirt floor.

Ron was shocked, but not ready to give in. "Bulbasaur, you gotta stick on the offensive! Tackle straight into Ivysaur!"

Erika seemed surprised at the aggressiveness that Ron showed in battle. She shouted out, "Ivysaur, use a Vine Whip to propel yourself into the air. Now!"

Flawlessly, Ivysaur flew high into the air. Bulbasaur looked upwards toward its evolved form, who was wearing a slight grin on its face. Before Ron could react, Ivysaur created a straight ball of energy from the area around its mouth. Erika shouted to her Pokemon, who released the ball in a straight path towards the surprised Bulbasaur.

"_So that's an Energy Ball attack? I wonder if I could teach one of my Pokemon an attack like that?"_

As Bulbasaur closed in on the ground, Ivysaur also landed on the ground. Its trainer ordered a tackle right at its opponent as it lay vulnerable to a second attack. It caused Ron great pain to have to watch his Pokemon as it helplessly got KO'd by such an attack.

The referee waved her flag in the direction of Ivysaur, declaring the grass Pokemon the winner of the second round of fights. It was still nowhere near close to the end, but Ron knew he had to win this fight…Emma was watching.

Ron recalled Bulbasaur to its Pokeball, only having praise for his young Pokemon for the fight it put up. He knew it would be best to have a type advantage for this fight. Pidgeotto may be hurt, but hopefully he could get a solid fight out of his Pokemon, maybe even a KO.

"Pidgeotto, we have to work fast! Let's do this."

His bird still seemed to be effected somewhat by the poison, but the rest in the Pokeball might have helped the worst of the pain pass away without the stress of battle. Ron's Pokemon stayed high in the air, ready for an order.

Erika yelled out to Ron, "Are you sure you want Pidgeotto to continue fighting? That poison must have done some damage to it."

Ron shouted back that his Pokemon would be fine. Erika nodded, so Ron gave his Pokemon an order.

"Hey Pidgeotto, let's use that Twister attack you used back when we beat Misty."

His Pokemon created a gust of wind with energy pulsing through it, making the wind appear to have turned green. The extra power would hopefully be enough to take out the powerful grass Pokemon.

Erika ordered an Energy Ball from her Pokemon, which caused the Twister attack to cease somehow. Ron figured she must have known that property of the attack, or something like that. Maybe she was just lucky like he seemed to be half the time? Still, it was a battle…not a time for pondering.

As Ron ordered a full force Wing Attack from his Pokemon, he noticed the poison really had done a number on his Pokemon. Pidgeotto flinched a bit as it went into its dive. Erika again must have noticed something, as she ordered her Pokemon to launch another Energy Ball straight at the diving bird.

Ron cried out, "Pidgeotto, twist your body to evade the attack!"

He didn't know if this would work or not, but somehow the Energy Ball attack slightly missed his Pokemon. Ivysaur didn't have time to react, and was knocked backwards by the attack. However, it somehow managed to grab a hold of its opponent in mid-flight.

The two entangled Pokemon slammed hard into the ground, skidding a few feet before coming to a stop. Both were completely out of the fight. The referee raised two flags in the air, declaring that both Pokemon were unable to battle. Now Ron and Erika would have to choose completely different Pokemon to decide the battle.

For Ron, that choice was easy. Electabuzz and Geodude, no matter how powerful they were, couldn't take on a grass type Pokemon of this caliber. This was going to be Growlithe's chance to shine. He sent out the fiery canine Pokemon, who burst onto the scene with great enthusiasm.

Ron figured that Erika's final Pokemon would be her signature Pokemon, a Vileplume. This Pokemon had a large flower over top its head, making Ron wonder how in the world it ever was able to stay on two feet. Sure enough, the blue Pokemon with the red and spotted flower on its head was the Pokemon Erika went with to finish this battle.

Ron didn't even need to tell his Pokemon how crucial this fight was. Somehow there was this understanding between trainer and Pokemon that this fight would be important for both of their careers. Ron let out the first command.

"Growlithe, use your Flamethrower on Vileplume. Let's turn up the heat in here!"

Growlithe released a massive spew of fire from somewhere in its body. The attack nailed Vileplume pretty badly, but Erika didn't seem that worried. She ordered an attack called Petal Dance from her Pokemon.

The Vileplume began to dance frantically around the field, sending pink petals flying everywhere. The Pokemon nailed into Growlithe without any sense of direction. Ron knew this wasn't good, as his opponent's movements were completely unpredictable.

"Growlithe, hang in there. We can't let this beat us. Roar at Vileplume, see if you can get it to back down!"

But the insane Pokemon paid no notice to the ferocious roar of the Growlithe before it. All it did was continue to lunge itself at Ron's Pokemon, continuing to send petals into the air and onto the battlefield. If he wanted to win, he knew he had to stop this mess of a battle.

Then he began to notice that when Vileplume missed in its attempt at damaging Growlithe with its body, it would slam into the ground pretty hard, which seemed to be doing a number on its body.

Because of prior battle experience, the grass Pokemon was able to calm itself. Erika then ordered for her Pokemon to begin charging up a Solar Beam attack. Growlithe was ordered to head straight at the grass opponent with its Flame Wheel attack. With its body covered in fire, Growlithe hurled itself towards Vileplume.

The beam of intense solar energy was thrown straight at the blazing Pokemon; however, the energy simply seemed to be absorbed into the flames. With nothing it could do, Vileplume took the attack head-on.

Because of the condition that Vileplume was in, the referee declared Growlithe the winner of the match and Ron as the winner of the battle. The two trainers met halfway across the field, about where Emma had been watching. Ron didn't hear her say anything during the fight, but the smile she gave him showed that she was in fact impressed with the job he had done.

Rainbow Badge in had, Ron left the gym with Emma. They would part ways for now, because Ron needed to check in on some stuff first in his hometown of Saffron City, then in Lavender Town, where he needed to see the old man who had been in possession of the stolen Pokeflute. Keep reading to find out what happens next!


	23. Attention

**Attention**

To all fans of "A Trainer's Journey."

This story has been canceled and replaced with another one of my works called "Destiny of One." I realize that this story takes on a trainer who starts with a Pikachu, but that does not mean it is going to be a rip-off of the anime series. Please give it a chance. I am hoping you will review this other fan fiction as much as you reviewed "A Trainer's Journey" in the past.


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